The New England Patriots came into the season with fairly favorable odds of going all the way and so far the Pats are right on track to add another Vince Lombardi to their dynasty. Of course, picking New England is about the safest bet on NFL games you could make, and seeing the Patriots in the Super Bowl is nothing new. There is absolutely no doubt that the start of the new century hailed the dawn of the era of New England and in two weeks the online NFL betting community will witness the organization’s attempt to claim their 5th NFL title in 16 years. However, even though what the Patriots have accomplished is legendary, there is perhaps an even bigger storyline looming over this year’s Super Bowl; the fallout of Deflategate.
Depending on who you ask you may hear a very different story regarding Tom Brady’s struggle with the league and specifically the NFL’s commissioner Roger Goodell. Longtime online NFL betting fans will remember the controversy surrounding the Patriots’ organization when news of Spygate first broke out. So when a story first arose regarding another potential disregard of the rules Goodell made sure to make an example of the malefactor, in this case Brady.
Admittedly, when the story first broke it certainly seemed like Brady had been involved in some wrongdoings. The evidence was far from absolute, but a couple of questionable facts made it appropriate to reach certain conclusions. In the end no concrete evidence directly proving that Brady had purposely interfered with game regulation footballs could be found, and one scientific study proving one thing was quickly undermined by another proving its antithesis. Brady went from being hated by the sportsbook community to more or less being relieved of all guilt.
Nevertheless, Goodell still felt that the actions that had taken placed could not be brushed aside. Albeit, in hindsight the commissioner’s wrath was brought about more because of the way the Patriots handled the investigation rather, than any heinous acts that were committed regarding the psi of a football. The Patriots wanted to ensure that they didn’t look like cheaters, but by trying to cover their tracks they only left more for outside speculation.
So as sportsbook fans prepare to choose a winning side in this year’s Super Bowl the attention will soon start focusing in on one of the biggest storylines out there; the beef between the commissioner and Brady. It was a well known fact that this past weekend the commissioner – who has access to a private plane, only attended one championship game; the contest that decided who would win the NFC. Goodell could have very easily caught both games, it’s been done before. And in the absence of an official explanation, fans all felt that the elephant in the room was getting larger by the minute.
Now Brady – who vehemently feels like he never committed any wrongdoing, will have the chance to embarrass the man who ridiculed him in front of the whole world. Some sportsbook experts have stated that the commissioner made this personal by mounting his crusade against the most decorated quarterback in Super Bowl history. In fact, Brady is probably looking forward more to seeing the look on Goodell’s face (if they win), rather than actually winning another Lombardi trophy. Needless to say, this is one Super Bowl that will go down in online NFL betting history.
