The Joy of Six: Super Bowl scandals | DJ Gallo

The fallout led to the FCC fining CBS $550,000 and the NFL going with ultra-conservative halftime guests for years and this was pre-social media and during a time when only a small portion of the population had DVR technology. The NFL didnt have the savvy to have the images pulled from wire services, like Beyonces people did nine years later due to unflattering images of her half-time show. It was muted, old-timey OUTRAGE. Viewers had to actually speak to each other and say: Did you see what I think I just saw? No one could run it back to take another look to confirm and there werent 550,000 nipple memes on Twitter before the third quarter kicked off. Because of all that, there was no impact on the game, which the Patriots won on an Adam Vinatieri field goal with four seconds left. Today? Rob Gronkowski would probably be running around during half-time showing his team-mates screenshots on his cell phone.

4) The Ray Lewis debate

Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta will always be remembered for Kevin Dyson and the Tennessee Titans (and Jeff Fisher!) coming up just one yard short of taking the high-powered St Louis Rams to overtime. Rams linebacker Mike Jones made the game-saving tackle, but Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis will forever be linked to the game, too. At a nearby Super Bowl party, Lewis and his associates were involved in a fight that led to the stabbing death of two men, with Lewis and friends speeding away from the scene in a limo. The blood-spattered white suit that Lewis wore that night was never recovered, just as authorities never secured a conviction in the murders.

A year later, Lewis and the Ravens were playing in the Super Bowl, but had to spend much of the lead up to the game defending a team-mate many thought should be in prison with current Skip Bayless co-host Sterling Sharpe leading the way. If I had felt in any way, shape or form he had been responsible, I would not have defended Ray, and I would not have played for the Ravens, Sharpe said. If the Ravens were fine with Lewis, the Giants sure played like they were scared of him, scoring just a single touchdown in a 34-7 loss as Lewis was named game MVP.

5) Eugene Robinsons arrest

One man stands above all others for creating a Super Bowl distraction for his team: 1998 Bart Starr NFL Man of the Year award winner Eugene Robinson. 30 January 1999, the date before Super Bowl XXXIII, was quite a memorable day for Robinson, the Pro Bowl safety of the Atlanta Falcons. At a morning breakfast, he was named the Bart Starr winner, an honor given each year to the NFL player who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community. That night, on a search for dessert in the Miami community, he was nabbed by an undercover officer for soliciting a prostitute. Things didnt get much better for him the following day when he got torched for an 80-yard touchdown pass to Rod Smith and got steamrolled by Terrell Davis on a long run in Denvers 34-19 win.

Its not a surprise that Robinson was instantly scapegoated for the 14-2 Falcons getting blown out, but his late-night activities were not unique. A team-mate told the New York Times that guys had been going there all week. Its just that Eugene was the only one who got caught. Let that be a lesson for todays Falcons and the oft-scandalized Patriots as they kill time in Houston before Super Bowl LI: whatever you do, just dont get caught. Actually, speaking of the Patriots …

6) Everything Patriots

For a franchise that does all it can to avoid distractions just ask Tim Tebows bank account the New England Patriots do Super Bowl scandal better than any other team. Their initial foray into controversy began at the start of the 2007 season when Eric Mangini, the former Bill Belichick protege who was New York Jets head coach at the time, reported New England for taping Jets defensive signals during a 38-14 Week 1 loss. An NFL investigation ensued, more illegal tapes were discovered, Bill Belichick and the franchise were each fined six figures, the Patriots got docked a draft pick and Roger Goodell, then just beginning his second season on the job, ordered the tapes destroyed. No one knew then that the tape-smashing would be just the first of the inexplicable decisions that came to define his tenure as commissioner.

But like all Patriots scandals, SpyGate carried on for months … right through their 16-0 regular season and on into their Super Bowl XLII matchup with Eli Manning and the New York Giants. In fact, two days before kickoff, Senator Arlen Specter told the New York Times that he might call Goodell before a Congressional hearing to explain the facts of the case and why he destroyed the evidence.

Theres no way to know if all those distractions knocked the Patriots off their game. Tom Brady seemed plenty confident and cocky heading into Patriots-Giants I, logging a dismissive laugh that held the record for the most regrettable of all-time until July 2015. But the Patriots lost the game in dramatic fashion and the public mostly moved on, content with New England being punished via 18-1 infamy.

But seven years later, the Patriots were right back into more Super Bowl scandal. Following a 45-7 destruction of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC title game, sports fans were hit with a new gate Deflate that saw Brady accused of having Patriots equipment managers, including one nicknamed The Deflator, make his footballs nice and soft. For sake of brevity and not putting everyone to sleep, we wont recap every news item from that interminable saga. But Brady had to address the balls in a memorable press conference before Super Bowl XLIX and fallout of the saga continues to today as Brady tries to make the man who suspended him for four games at the start of this season hand him the Lombardi Trophy. The Patriots have yet to produce any new controversies for this years big game. But give them time. Kickoff is still a few days away and Brady could always put a #MAGA sticker on his helmet.