In lieu of the Water-Gate Scandal, the New England Patriots' Scandal has been dubbed "Deflate-Gate." It's absolutely everywhere, but for those of you who don't follow football (keep doing you) basically, at the AFC Championship 11 of the Patriots' 12 balls were found to be oddly...and illegally...deflated. By regulation, a football must be - at the minimum - 12.5 pounds per square inch and at the maximum - 13.5psi. At this specific game, we found out that these 11 balls were 2 pounds per inch LESS than the minimum regulation.

Now this poses the questions: Did the New England Patriots cheat? Does starting quarterback Tom Brady have anything to do with the alleged crime? And most significant to the American public: Will Superbowl XLIX still pit the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots...or nah?

While all of the questions are indeed a threat to society as we know it, I'd like to take a quick look at the football situation.

A deflated football WOULD logically be easier to hold. (That's the point of the scandal.) In the wet and slippery conditions of the AFC Championship, a slightly deflated ball would be easier to grip, because if it's volume is capable of stretching further than it would usually would, the surface area of the ball is more easily altered and manipulated. In other words, more room for volume, more room to stretch the ball within your hand as you catch it. Therefore, more room to hang onto it. So the scientific answer, stated by material scientists, is yes: it would indeed be easier to catch and grasp.

Tom Brady claims he did not alter the balls in any way and has no knowledge of anyone else doing so. Some people disagree with his claims to innocence. Of course, it would be a perfect crime if successful. Each team uses their own balls, so the other team wouldn't have even caught the cheat! Of course, the 'cheat' this fact was revealed. The real matter lies in whether or not the cheat was known and intentional. Maybe it was an accident. Psych! How could that POSSIBLY be? 11 balls? All tampered with in an advantages way. No coincidence. There are many arguments one way or another. Like...why didn't the referee who checks the psi of the ball catch this before the game? Could the team equipment manager have messed with the balls in some way? What DOES Tom Brady actually know?

I don't know who's right or who's wrong. Frankly I don't care that much. In my opinion every team cheats except the Buffalo Bills. Put them in, coach.