It's been a busy week and I've tried to avoid blogging about the whole under inflated football situation until some facts have come out. Well, here it is Friday night and we still have very little information and I'm typing about it. Trust me, I tried to avoid it and I tried to search out the facts, but I'm just a blogger who doesn't have any real connection to the Patriots, the NFL or most importantly a time machine. While I do lack those attributes, I believe I have a much better grasp of the situation than most of the people who are "reporting" on the issue.
Air Pressure 101- As a former middle school science teacher, it amazes me that so many people had no idea that the air pressure of a ball decreases when the temperature drops. While I don't know for certain, I imagine these are probably the same people who fill their tires to the maximum PSI listed on their tires or until they look round. If you are one of those people just learning about air pressure changing with temperature I suggest you do some simple balloon experiments to get a quick visual. Also, if you are ever buying some helium balloons for a party in the summer, make sure the party store doesn't fill them up too much or they will pop when the air expands and the balloon can't handle the extra volume.
Air Pressure Advanced- Before we can actually use physics to either prove or disprove any theories that the balls' air pressures were intentionally manipulated after being checked by the referees we need to know:
Assuming we don't actually have that information, it would at least be useful to know the following:
Air Pressure Advanced- Before we can actually use physics to either prove or disprove any theories that the balls' air pressures were intentionally manipulated after being checked by the referees we need to know:
- Initial air pressure of each ball for both teams
- Halftime air pressure of each ball for both teams
- Initial temperature of balls/room they were in
- Temperature of balls/location when they were measured a second time
Assuming we don't actually have that information, it would at least be useful to know the following:
- Were all of the balls really tested using a pressure gauge?
- Was the same pressure gauge used? (both team's balls, before game and at half)
- Did one referee do all of the measurements?
- How long were both teams' balls inside waiting to be tested?
- What were the conditions of the balls? (Was one team's apparently in a lot rougher shape that the others and could be more apt to PSI change)
More questions regarding the game balls that could use definitive answers:
- Is it a fact or rumor that 11 of 12 balls were below the league minimum?
- Is it a fact or rumor that the balls were 2 PSI below the league minimum?
- Did they inflate those balls at halftime or did they use the back up balls?
Additional Questions/Comments:
- Was there really some sort of tipoff? If so, shouldn't they have been taping the initial measurements at the very least?
- What's with every supposed news outlet completely plagiarizing each other's rumors and calling it facts?
- If the balls were not intentionally manipulated AFTER the referees approved them, then there is NO violation.
- The fine for manipulating a football is pretty much $25,000 with possibly some other consequences. To put that fine into perspective for how minor of an offense it is, here are some other numbers for fines this season: Roughing passer- $16,637 first offense, $33,075 second offense. Throwing a football into the stands- $5,512 first offense, $11,025 second offense. Fighting- $27,562 first offense, $55,125 second offense.
- What's with people thinking that Belichick and the Patriots should get in extra trouble because of what happened in 2007. So sorry that other coaches are no longer in the business or are with their 3rd or 4th team since then.
- If the league really felt that football manipulation mattered a whole heck of a lot for quarterbacks they would have had a much better system in place already. They obviously took care of that for the kickers several years ago.
- For those who are completely out of their minds and think Brady and Belichick should be banned from the game and all that other crazy stuff (seemingly regardless of no evidence whatsoever), did you know that equipment manipulation is pretty much part of all games. It is the job of the official to determine that all implements are legal throughout the game. As an official myself, I am tasked with checking the equipment that will be used before competition. When I umpire girls' lacrosse one of the things I need to do before the game is check the pocket of each player's stick. If it doesn't meet specifications it needs to be fixed and checked again. Throughout the course of the game I can recheck a stick if I feel the need. If an opposing coach or player feels that a stick is not legal they can have me check it in the middle of the game. At the college level a goal scorer must immediately drop her stick to the field and allow for an umpire to make sure it is legal before signalling that the goal is good. Wow, what a bunch of cheaters those lacrosse players are. They should all be banned from competitive sports for life. They shouldn't even be allowed to go jogging because they will find a way to cheat at that. So what's the penalty if a stick is illegal? The illegal stick comes out of play and is placed on the scorer's table for the remainder of the half. The player can get a legal stick from the sideline and return to her spot on the field. The opposing team gets the ball and play is resumed.
- Like Brady said, "This isn't ISIS". Of course it does seem to be getting an awful lot of attention while the fact that we are going to send hundreds of troops and who knows how much money, equipment and supplies to Syria to train some more rebels. In other words we are about to create another ISIS and all the news stations seem to care about is the PSI of a football.
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