It didn’t seem like an important moment at the time. Who would have known that this photograph would have arguably the most talked about, controversial football in NFL history?
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Editors Note: Vincent Pugliese has spent the past 20 years traveling the country taking sports photographs for a living. Each picture tells a story. Each picture stores a memory. Each a window into sport, and how we connect to it. In ‘Beyond the Lens,’ Good Men Project Sports selects one photograph and tells the story behind the shot.
This entry captures the genesis of DeflateGate…
Gilette Stadium, FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS
As I walked through the corridors of Gillette Stadium towards the media bus, that one play – that one moment – was long forgotten.
Weaving past the Patriots players families gathering for an expansive catered meal outside of the Patriots locker room, the talk had nothing to do with the inflation levels of footballs. Darrell Revis, with his arm around his wife, walked beside me with an exhausted smile.
As I stood in the rain moments later waiting for the tardy bus, I recounted the images I made that night. It was all Patriots – a 45-7 thumping of the Indianapolis Colts to punch their ticket to yet another Super Bowl. And the photographs reflected that. Confetti, celebration, touchdowns, happiness. They all involved New England.
I had made one solid image of a positive Indianapolis play but when you lose – and lose so decisively – those moments are long forgotten.
Late in the second quarter, with New England leading 14-0, the Patriots were driving for another score before halftime. That was when Tom Brady made a rare mistake that evening, throwing a pass that was intercepted by D’Quell Jackson. Jackson, turned in my direction, hurdled Patriots receiver Danny Amendola, and gave Indianapolis new life.
That image was destined for the digital graveyard until a little thing called Deflategate appeared.
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The Colts drove the other direction for a touchdown, getting Indianapolis as close as it they would get all night. If the Colts had come back to win, the image of Jackson returning the interception would have been an important one. After they lose 45-7? Not so much.
That image was destined for the digital graveyard until a little thing called Deflategate appeared.
Unless you live under a pile of fully inflated footballs, you have heard about the scandal/controversy/setup/coverup that has dominated the sports landscape. If you haven’t heard, the New England Patriots have been accused of intentionally deflating the footballs prior to the AFC Championship Game to gain an unfair advantage.
And many sources said it all began with this play. Multiple reports state that after Jackson intercepted the ball on this play, someone on the Colts staff noticed the ball seemed deflated. According to those reports, the Colts informed the league of the issue. The league then checked the balls at halftime and found the majority of the balls in the Patriots possession to be under inflated.
It’s interesting to wonder about. If Jackson doesn’t pick off the pass, do the Colts ever get a hold of a Patriots football to make the challenge? Do the Patriots score on that drive, win the game 52-0 in even more convincing fashion, and the football world bows to New England all summer instead of calling them cheaters?
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The story broke that night and has had more twists, turns, storylines and drama than a season of Desperate Housewives.
Jackson himself denies calling attention to the ball. Other reports state that the Colts had informed the NFL prior to the game that the Patriots had a history of deflating footballs. But it wasn’t until Jackson picked off the pass from Brady that the whole crazy story was set into motion.
It’s interesting to wonder about. If Jackson doesn’t pick off the pass, do the Colts ever get a hold of a Patriots football to make the challenge? Do the Patriots score on that drive, win the game 52-0 in even more convincing fashion, and the football world bows to New England all summer instead of calling them cheaters?
Did that one play have a major effect in determining the legacy of one of the most successful but polarizing teams in NFL history?
For me, it simply started as a decent image that became meaningless pretty quickly. Now it is a footnote in what might be the biggest story that the NFL has seen in many years. The Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was just suspended four games for his part in the fiasco, the team was docked two draft picks and was given a $1,000,000 fine. That fine in the largest in NFL history.
It didn’t seem like an important moment at the time. Who would have known that this photograph would have arguably the most talked about, controversial football in NFL history?
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Originally published at Into the Uncommon. Reprinted with permission.
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Photo: Provided by author, used with permission
I got to this article a week late, but was shocked that nobody else commented on it. What are the chances that a GMP insider was actually at the Deflategate game? Better yet, Vincent captured this image, the genesis of stinkin’ 6 months of sports talk and a massive investigation. Thanks for bringing this new angle to a worn out story!