Deflategate? Patriots Nation is Pumped, Not Deflated

Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.

Make no mistake: New England fans are pumped, not deflated.

As the NFL investigates how footballs got deflated during the AFC Championship game, and detractors accuse the team of cheating, very little air seems to have gone out of Patriots Nation and its Super Bowl euphoria.

Die-hard fans have been poking fun at the latest controversy swirling around the franchise. There are "Deflatriots" bumper stickers, "Deflaters Gonna Deflate" T-shirts and even "Deflategate" cookies shaped like saggy little footballs with icing laces.

IT worker David Schultz in Boston says it's much ado about nothing.

Patriots fans are used to playing defense.

They're still fending off criticism for videotaping the New York Jets' signals during a 2007 game.

For several years, the Patriots have been the team the rest of America loves to hate, in part because of their success.


by Jason St. Amand , National News Editor

Read These Next