You know what, don't answer that
Now to be serious for a moment, I don't condone cheating. Win or lose by talent and it's clear the Patriots would have won that game anyway.
But what I want to know is how the officials did not say anything? They are supposed to test the balls a couple hours before the game. Something seems odd about that particular part.
Also, the SI article is some of the biggest bullshit ever. Dude is a Jets fan. I pity him because he suffers greatly.
Based on what I have seen so far, the balls were cleared for the game. If that's true, either the official responsible for verifying them didn't (due to slacking or conspiracy, I usually assume the former), or something happened to them in between the certification and the discovery. An article I read earlier basically said they're checked a few hours before the game and then anybody can do anything because they're not watched/checked after that. You'd think the refs during the game who are constantly picking up the balls would have noticed though.
each team supplies its own balls for offense. if a ref notices a ball is under-inflated, they go to the opposing team for one of their balls. it's true that the balls are inspected roughly two hours before the game, but at game time they are handled by someone from the home team to get them to the official. supposedly the refs were tipped off at halftime but i haven't seen what, if anything, the refs did with that information.
"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman