Spygate

So it's September in New England. And with the Red Sox taking their usual late season nose dive, we here in the Northeast thank the Good Lord for the existence of the New England Patriots. Can you imagine what it was like here before the Patriots began their dynastic run in the NFL? Well, it was horrendously depressing and that's putting it lightly. If I'm going to speak about the New England Patriots, I must be allowed to give my thoughts on Spygate. I know it's almost two weeks old now, but you know what, the media just will NOT let this thing go. Every reporter who has an axe to grind with Bill Belichick is coming out of the woodworks now and showing their true colors. And I'm glad that this is happening to be honest with you.

It's really easy to go along with the crowd and drag a guy's name through the mud. Kick him when he's down. Bury him under the controversy. Ruin his legacy. It's what the media does best. They build someone up to heroic proportions and then they tear him down when it's convenient for them. Now we see what people really think of the New England Patriots. And we see that the media is just a bunch of weak minded individuals who play follow the leader. As I said, it's easy to drag someone's name through the mud when you're following everyone else's lead. It's a much harder and nobler thing to stand up for someone when they're at their lowest and stick by them regardless. Out of the hundreds of reporters that have jumped on the Bash-Bill bandwagon, there have only been TWO people to stick up for Belichick and look at this thing rationally: Sean Salisbury from ESPN, and Bill Parcells.

Let me tell the Patriot-Haters out there once and for all: THIS THING IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT…GET…OVER…IT!!!! For God's sake people, get off your high horses! We in New England admit that Bill Belichick made a mistake. And in no way do we condone what was done. Read that sentence again if you're having trouble understanding our stance. What Belichick did Week 1 of the NFL season was wrong and he was punished. Finito. End of Story. Let…it…go. Take a deep breath Skip Bayless and SHUT…UP! "I think this is the tip of the iceberg, I think more is gonna come out of this," is the popular thing to say. SHUT UP!!! NO ITS NOT!!!! THERES NO CONSPIRACY!!!!

The NFL just made public that the Patriots have complied with their wishes and NO FURTHER SANCTIONS ARE FORTHCOMING. Will the media finally let this go? We shall see, but I highly doubt it. I have lost confidence in the media to take the high road, to use common sense and let go of their death grip. Just look at OJ Simpson, it's 12 years and the media still won't let go of him. Will this tarnish Bill Belichick's legacy? Absolutely not, hate to tell you. He is not Bill "Belicheat"…which by the way is the most moronic name I've ever heard, which shows the intelligence of those who hate on him. He is a living legend, an absolute genius and bottom line, he wins games. Hall Of Fame, guaranteed. Will this tarnish the Patriots' dynasty? Absolutely not, hate to tell you. They are not the Cheatriots…which again…just…retarded. This is a legit team, legit dynasty and regardless of what you think of Belichick's personality and the way he handles press conferences, it was unfair what the media did to him and the team this past week, and the rest of the NFL better watch out.

My name is Paul DeCaporale. I was born and raised in the smallest state in the United States, which would be Rhode Island. Not to be confused with Long Island, New York, which is a common mistake for those not geographically inclined. Being from New England I was brought up as a Boston Red Sox fan, and when the foliage turned color and began to fall from the trees, a New England Patriots fan, a Boston Celtics fan, and a Boston Bruins fan. In my 20 years of living in this region, I can attest to the pain and suffering that we New Englanders have endured. Some people that have not grown up in these areas choose to label us as complainers or whiners, but those who have teams that have risen to the occasion and brought home the championship banners and trophies feel little pity for us lowly Chowdah Heads. We are largely comprised of blue collar workers that work hard for the food we put on the table. We ask for nothing in return for this hard work and our fierce devotion and zeal for our local sports teams…except a championship ever year.

Every season brings A New Hope, and to stretch the analogy further, a new battle against the Evil Empire. We use baseball bats as light sabers and the Red Sox Nation is the force that is always with Theo Epstein, Terry Francona, and “Big Papi” David Ortiz……

Unless of course we happen to lose, in which case the fan base abandons their beloved stars in the blink of an eye. We hold our athletes to Herculean expectations, and in many ways our life is a Greek Tragedy in and of itself. New Englanders liken themselves to Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill of achievement only to have it snorted by Len Bias or hit into the eternal October night by Aaron Boone. We love to think that the only sports teams that matter are separated by 215 miles of pavement called Interstate 95, and down that one road is our own Scylla and Charybdis (for those of you who have not read The Odyssey lately, to make a long story short, Scylla is a whirlpool and Charybdis was a 6 headed monster, and Odysseus had to choose which obstacle he wanted to take his men through to get home). Point is, it was a Catch-22, just….don’t worry about it.

Yes, as you may be able to tell, New Englanders are swept up in melodrama from January through December, every day, every year, round the clock, you can bet there is a New England fan watching Sportscenter just dying to hear what the nation thinks of us, good or bad. We like to say we don’t care, but the issue usually is the fact that we do, indeed, care way…and I mean way…too much.

There’s constantly a debate over Danny Ainge’s mismanagement of the Celtics, or arguing whether Peyton is better than Brady, or wondering if Curt Schilling really is just a big boned man with a big mouth who lost his fastball. And for those who still hold on to the belief that hockey is still a sport and may once return to the glory days before Gary Bettman, we still tend to boo the Canadian National Anthem during a playoff game with the Montreal Canadian’s.

So, this blog will explore New England sports, although it’s not the most original topic; it is certainly the most passionate, dramatic, and tragic exploration of a region’s psyche. Somehow our core, and our deepest moral convictions got tangled in Bill Belichick’s videotape and merged with our #1 priority….sports.