RIP deflate-gate, January 2015-October 2016
Deflate-gate, 624 days old, of Foxborough, Mass., died Sunday night, Oct. 2, after succumbing to a long battle fueled by the NFL. The NFLPA announced the end of a long, brave fight on Twitter.
After consultation with Tom Brady and our appellate counsel, we have decided to not pursue additional appeals in this matter.
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) October 3, 2016
Following the New England Patriots suffering their first loss of the season, we celebrate the life of Tom Brady, who may return to work as of midnight Sunday and we ask that you continue to keep him in your thoughts for all he has given to the game.
Fans may pay tribute to Brady, his wonderful talents and his team, the Patriots, in a service next Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio at FirstEnergy Stadium, which is located at 100 Alfred Lerner Way. The Cleveland Browns also are expected to be there to welcome Brady back. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not expected to attend.
Services will be broadcast at 1 p.m. ET and could help the league’s sagging television ratings, which should be good news in a relatively dark hour for Goodell and the NFL, even though they were the ones to help keep deflate-gate thriving for as long as it did.
Often misunderstood yet widely followed, deflate-gate loved to grab headlines, twist and turn unexpectedly and make people scratch their collective heads throughout the course of its life. Although the NFLPA took deflate-gate off life support Sunday night, it lasted far longer than anyone could have expected with a mysterious fervor and zest for life.
Brady is believed to now be dedicating the remainder of his season in its memory. It has been a long road for all, but in lieu of flowers the Patriots presumably would ask for donations to be made in the form of fan support and ticket sales. They might even ask that people act respectfully following the loss of life of this strange saga.
With death comes rebirth. Deflate-gate’s life was a hard, strange one, and now we all can move on — just as it would want us to.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
