Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 1229 Bearing heavy responsibilities
The storm of public opinion formed by social network traffic was so powerful that it surrounded the New England Patriots in just a few hours.

You don't need to be very smart or very professional to deeply feel that the New England Patriots are indeed in a bad situation this time.

However, traffic is just traffic, and it is not enough to cause real harm. In the final analysis, it still depends on the actions of the alliance.

The league was badly embarrassed by the last "deflation scandal", and the bland and vague investigation report was simply a slap in the face for itself.

So, what about this time?

Amid the game of interests and the tug of war for power, can the alliance truly become tough?

Then, Goodell came on the scene.

At nine o'clock on Monday morning, eleven hours before the night game started, the NFL held an official press conference and Goodell announced the league's decision.

"…The incident is still under comprehensive investigation. The Alliance hopes to restore the truth of the matter, not miss any violations, and refuse to condone any behavior…Subsequent decisions will be discussed as the investigation deepens…But based on the existing evidence, the Alliance has realized the seriousness of the situation…"

blah blah blah.

Anyone who is truly an expert can tell that Goodell's meaning is very simple: stay calm, the league will definitely punish severely, but we need to investigate further and weigh the pros and cons further.

In other words, keep gaming.

The game between the league and the New England Patriots has been familiar to fans for the past twenty years, and Kraft is the one who can compete with Goodell.

But now, the league has given the first step of punishment to calm public opinion. Fans can temporarily shut up and focus on the regular season instead of being led by the nose.

So, what about the punishment?

One is the Gillette Stadium incident, and the other is the Cincinnati Bengals incident. Both crimes must be punished together.

Finally, the league fined Blicek $750,000 and the New England Patriots $2 million.

Regardless of the former or the latter, this is the heaviest fine in the league's history, both for individuals and for the team, breaking both...the league's highest fine against the New England Patriots and Belichick in 2007.

In addition, the league stated that the investigation will continue and they will decide whether to impose subsequent suspensions and deprivation of draft picks.

Netizen: That’s it?
With such a huge momentum, the punishment is just a little watering?

Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, two million dollars, it's nothing to them, okay? They don't even notice the damage.

Where is the sense of shock?

The social network opinion storm was so huge and vigorous, creating such a momentum, but in the end Goodell only issued such a confusing fine?

It's easy to tell that the league is trying to appease the fans by not targeting the New England Patriots, but spending time controlling public opinion.

This... hehe.

But if you calm down and think about it carefully, they shouldn't be surprised, right?
The NFL does have limited power, and there is a relationship of mutual restraint and cooperation between them and these professional teams. Each of the team owners is a wealthy tycoon and is not afraid of Goodell at all.

In the NFL, there are two most severe penalties:

One is to deprive a team of its draft pick for the following year, which directly hits the team's future competitiveness and rebuilding ability. In 2007, the New England Patriots were deprived of their first-round draft pick for the following year due to the "spy gate" incident.

One is to confiscate the game results and declare the team a loser. However, although this is the official punishment method stipulated by the league, it has not been used in half a century and is only a deterrent. In addition, the league has another punishment method, which is debatable, but it is indeed a serious punishment -

At the end of 2017, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was exposed for openly bullying in the workplace within the team, treating female employees as second-class citizens and directly harassing them, with a series of solid evidence; he also made racist remarks within the team on many occasions.

The situation quickly fermented and spread, becoming more and more serious.

Under pressure from public opinion, the league launched an investigation and put pressure on Richardson. Eventually, Richardson announced that he would sell the team and leave the league.

Yes, according to the rules, the league has the power to require the owner to force the sale of the team.

However, strictly speaking, the league has never used such power so far. Even in Richardson's case, the league only continued to exert pressure and did not publicly punish him. Richardson sold the team under the pressure of internal and external public opinion, which does not constitute a punishment.

In other words, the league is just an organization that brings together professional teams, and their punishments are unlikely to really hurt the teams.

What’s more, it’s a team with deep roots and thriving branches like the New England Patriots?

There is a reason why New England has been able to remain standing despite becoming a public enemy in North America.

After figuring this out, netizens were collectively depressed——

So what to do? Isn't there a better way to hurt the New England Patriots directly?
Wait, why not?

The answer is both far away and close at hand:
Kansas City Chiefs!
Opportunity, isn't it right here at your doorstep?
Solve the problem of competitive sports with the method of competitive sports. Although the Kansas City Chiefs are the target that everyone wants to defeat this season and can be called the new "public enemy of the league", and no one wants to see the Kansas City Chiefs complete the feat of three consecutive championships and establish a new dynasty; but at this moment, everyone is a Chiefs fan, and there is only one idea and one goal in their minds.

Roar! Roar, roar, roar!
The rolling heat waves surged towards the Kansas Chiefs with great force and fanfare.

It's a rare sight that the entire league stands behind them and at this moment becomes the most loyal and steadfast Kansas City Chiefs fans.

Just like New York.

"Beat the beat!"

People cheered and put aside their personal grudges and emotions, jealousy and envy, and hoped that the Kansas Chiefs could teach the New England Patriots a lesson with a victory and make people believe again:
Justice exists after all.

Even a powerful entity like the New England Patriots cannot escape the constraints and punishments of the laws of conservation of the universe.

More than ever before, more than ever before, fans are eager to see the New England Patriots lose.

Calmly looking back at the past three seasons, who is more suitable than the Kansas City Chiefs?

Or to be more precise, who is more suitable than Levi?

"Rookie VS Goat", this feud began from the moment Levi landed in the NFL. After countless episodes and events, the power of the universe guided them to the game in front of them to witness the moment of the handover of the new and old kings.

“The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves in front of them, and the waves in front of them die on the beach.”

The hopes and responsibilities of the alliance, both inside and outside, fell heavily on Levi's shoulders.

"Beat the beat!"

(End of this chapter)