I read an article, at the web address below, about deflating footballs as far back as 2006.
NFL Media’s Judy Battista — formerly of the New York Times — had this to say about deflating footballs, after talking to NFL quarterback David Carr, who instructed equipment managers to let some air out of game balls.
“Carr, like several other quarterbacks, said Denver was one of the toughest places to play,” she wrote in 2006. “He said he thought the ball expanded slightly at the altitude and felt slick because of the lower humidity. Before Houston’s preseason game at Denver, Carr instructed the ball boys to let a little air out of the Texans’ footballs.”
The entire article, which was written about the rule change that Peyton Manning and Tom Brady lobbied for that allows teams to prepare their own balls, is suddenly very relevant. It includes quotes from several quarterbacks that demonstrate how particular they are about the way game balls are broken in.
Bolding my emphasis.
http://www.msn.com/...
Did they do it for both teams or just one team to get an edge on the other team? Supposedly they are “breaking in” their own footballs, but just how do you “break in” a football? Why do you need to “break in” a football? Is it just a ruse, to get an advantage over the other team? If the altitude, in Denver, was the excuse, why shouldn't both teams “break in” their footballs the same way, so one team does not have a competitive edge?
Follow me below, for my thoughts:
I thought in sports, you weren't supposed to cheat but abide by the same rules, for both teams, to see just how good you are, when competing with the other team. How can you call it sports, when you cheat, so you have an advantage.
This is professional football, so what are you saying to the kids and fans, who look up to you as an example of an honest hardworking “team player”? Doesn't it send the wrong message, when you say cheating is all right, because winning is everything. Isn't it supposed to be “win or lose it's just a game”?
Of course, then you have all of the betting on teams and the back room deals, for one team to throw the game, so the other team will win, to satisfy the ones, who bet on the game. Is it all about money and making a name for yourself? Don't it matter to you, you had to cheat, to get all this fame? What does that say about you, as a person?
I play bingo, here in the apartment complex, with several other residents twice a week. It's not to make money, after all, how much can you win, playing for nickels? I could cheat to win, but what would that say about me, as a person? I am content, win or lose, just to have the social interaction and play the game.
But then, that is not what professional sports is all about anymore or maybe that was not what it was about even since the beginning. Maybe it was all about the money and how much you could make and how much you could cheat, without getting caught. I feel bad about athletes, who cheat and have no problem accepting all the praise and special deals, knowing full well they are not all that great, but had to cheat, to achieve their fame.
I suppose maybe part of it, is I am disabled and was never able to participate in sports, because I had braces and crutches, making it much more difficult for me to get around. Maybe no one wanted to include me in anything, because it meant they had to slow down and help me a little and I was too much of a bother.
It was not easy, for a disabled person, in the 1960's & 1970's, to get around because businesses were not required to make their business accessible to the disabled. I had it a little better, because I could walk with braces and crutches, but someone in a wheel chair had it much worse.
I had learned how to go up and down stairs, frontwards and backwards, so even if there was only 1 railing, I could make it. Of course so many businesses, were lucky to have even 1 railing back then.
In the 1980's, when I had begun my own upholstery business, because I could not find a job, it meant I had to go to houses to give estimates. Although the customers would carry the heavy sample books, for me, it still meant I had to get into their house, even when it meant going up a long flight of stairs, for an upstairs apartment.
This one apartment didn't have any railing, which I think was actually against city code, since they were supposed to have at least one railing, for safety's sake. I had to climb the stairs using my hands, on the steps and since my legs were in the braces locked into a straight position, I had to swing first one leg, then the other up one step at a time and climb them that way. It was embarrassing, but was even worse, coming down, when I had to slide down the stairs, on my butt.
Not having any friends or family, to include me in anything, I never had the desire to get involved in sports. I would go to a few pep rallies, in high school and would help come up with slogans and paint signs, to post in our gym, for when the opposing team came to play, but that was about the only way I was involved.
Also I didn't have a childhood, where my parents or my family encouraged me. In high school I really had no friends, to watch any sports with or get involved with them, maybe because they thought I was too much trouble and would just drag them down.
My parents were farmers, living out in the country, so anywhere you wanted to go, you had to drive. My older brothers took no interest in me and I didn't get my driver's license, until after high school, so had no way to interact with other kids my age and they never thought to include me in anything.
No one really took an interest in me, so I don't really care for sports, especially lately, when it seems to be a sham, when it's not about how good you are, but what you can do to cheat and give you an edge on your opponent.
I admired Lance Armstrong, with everything he accomplished, but then it came out, he was cheating, by taking performance enhancing drugs, against the rules of his profession. What did he really think deep down, knowing he was cheating and really didn't deserve all of the recognition, he got?
I admired him and all he had accomplished, but then what a disappointment, when it really wasn't him, but the drugs, which let him win so many medals! Of course he kept denying it up until the bitter end, which was pathetic, until he had no recourse, but to admit he was doing it to gain a competitive edge.
How disappointing to me and others, especially young kids, who looked up to him. Now he has to give back all the medals he won, plus all the companies, who paid him huge sums of money, to promote their products, now want that money back and no longer want him as a spokesman, for their company.
Maybe it's all about building the best robot, who can outsmart the opposing robot, only in this case, it's all about humans and making them into something they never were meant to be. They inject themselves with all these drugs, but then when they want to go back to a normal life, can they really? What happens, when they have to keep doing more and more, to maintain the status quo? What happens, when the body begins to reject the drugs and begins to deteriorate?
Taking performance enhancing drugs, such as what some body builders take, who are obsessed with making their bodies even more muscular, inject themselves with all these different concoctions, to make them so much stronger than anyone else, showing off their massive, synthetic bodies.
The body builder pictured here is not Romario. To see a picture of Romario's body, you can go to the web address below.
Romario Dos Santos Alves, 25, turned to a cocktail of oil, painkillers and alcohol to pump up his biceps - with astounding results.
Now the former bodyguard terrifies children with his super-sized muscles and is facing a catalogue of serious health issues.
Romario's biceps had swollen to an incredible 25 inches but reactions from members of the public meant that his mental health deteriorated.
His body was so massive, he scared many children and other members of the community, when he was out in public. Some people admired his muscles, but many were afraid of him, which made him even more depressed.
He tried doing volunteer work, but people were too afraid of him. With injecting all these drugs, into his arms, the muscles basically turned into rocks and he almost lost his arm.
What happens, when they no longer are taking the drugs or their bodies begin rejecting all of this artificial stimulation? Is it really beautiful to have an overly muscular body? Does it attract anyone? Personally, I find these overly muscular body builder types unattractive, even though they may be attractive to others, they just don't do much for me.
See a photo of Romerio at the address below.
http://i2.mirror.co.uk/...
I admire muscular men and women, but not when they go overboard. Not when they look plastic and unreal, with the overindulgence, in all their synthetic procedures, to get these monstrous looking muscles. If they get all these muscles, even without cheating, how do they keep them, without keeping up their routine? What happens, when they no longer do their routine? What happens to all this muscle mass?
Watch the U-Tube video of Romario Dos Santos Alves, 25, who almost lost his arm due to his obsession with injecting a special combination of drugs, directly into his arms, to achieve the huge muscular arms and body he was looking for. He wanted to look like the Incredible Hulk. Would you find his massive muscles attractive, or would you be somewhat afraid of him.
http://www.bing.com/...