Sports myth

So now we know that the New England Patriots cheated last Sunday by slightly deflating footballs. And the former quarterback for Tampa Bay admits to a similar cheat in 2002. And NCAA football players have sued to be paid -- as if the free tuition, luxury dorms and private tutoring they have received in the past were not enough. We could probably finance President Obama's free community college program with the money wasted on feeding high school athletes by college scouts out to lure them to a money-making powerhouse. When I was a kid, it was a big and valued part of Olympic sports that the contenders were not paid -- at least not until after they took home the gold and picked up lucrative endorsement deals. Now there is no pretense at all. We used to sneer at the Soviet Union for footing all the bills and essentially professionalizing their Olympic athletes. Now we do the same thing with barely a nod to amateurism. Because the Olympics has become just another money-making event.

So why did anyone assume the Super Bowl would be untarnished by the greed that undergirds American culture today?

"Oh, it wasn't cheating exactly ..."

"Yes, it was."

"Well, it made no difference."

"Yes, it did."

"Well, other people may have done it, too."

"Yes, they did."

"See? They always do it. It's just part of the game, you  know, like eating properly and getting enough rest."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and the referees always screw it up anyway."