Remember Deflategate? That sure was fun. Months and months of incessant argument about whatever-the-hell=PSI-is and endless speculation about whether Tom Brady cheated, whether we should care that Tom Brady might have cheated, whether this kind of cheating really matters and whether the whole world is out to get those poor beleaguered Boston sports fans.
Well, now that a year has passed and the dust has settled a bit, Yahoo! Sports has released the results of a poll asking Americans whom they believe in the deflategate saga, Brady and the Patriots or Roger Goodell and the NFL. In a shocking turn of events, the poll shows that… most people think Brady is full of crap, except in New England, where the quarterback is widely considered an innocent victim.
Ok, so that’s not exactly shocking.
Here are the numbers:
In a Yahoo Sports poll, more Americans believe NFL than Tom Brady about deflate-gate. https://t.co/CvM8FC5FyR pic.twitter.com/zJ33ODVhCC
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 9, 2016
The demographic breakdown of these results is kind of interesting. Via Yahoo!
That 40 percent unsure figure breaks down rather significantly along age lines; virtually half of all millennials (48 percent) not believing either side. Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers were more certain, with only 36 and 38 percent, respectively, expressing doubt about culpability.
These figures demonstrate one reason why the NFL continues to push forward with a hunt that seems quixotic and pointless: nearly half the country openly backs the NFL. Men, in particular, sided with the NFL by a wide margin; 49 percent of all men believed the NFL, versus 38 percent of women.
To the extent that uncertainty indicates indifference, millennials seem to be wise beyond their years. Because when it comes to Deflategate, the best opinion to hold is usually a lack of opinion.
[Yahoo!]
