In a contest in our May 24 issue, we invited readers to share their thoughts on the NFL controversy in the form of a poem. After reading 120 submissions, we selected Paul M. MacDonald Jr. as the winner; he’ll receive the No. 12 jersey used in our cover photo shoot and the Globe’s 2015 Super Bowl book, autographed by Globe sportswriters. Thanks to all who entered.
THE WINNER
By Paul M. MacDonald Jr. / Belmont
There once was a Pat named Tom Brady,
Who married a beautiful lady.
With his records and rings
And the fame it all brings,
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They say that his methods were shady.
The roars of his Patriot Nation
Were hushed by the hiss of deflation.
Who knew that he bled so
‘Cause another team said so.
Kraft clammed up to end confrontation.
Though they say that it’s all within reason,
To agree would be some form of treason.
As our hero gets thumped,
It’s hard to get pumped
For a Brady-less start to next season.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
By Rick Blum / Bedford
In time it will be a dim memory
Dubious charges of chicanery
Born, it is clear, from rank jealousy
Claiming our balls were shrunk purposely
When physics shows how they came to be
As soft as sumptuous wedges of brie
Leaving a stain on Bill’s legacy
As well as deflating the Kraft treasury
But thinking about it, between you and me
I say in the future more wise it will be
To cease all this needless Tomfoolery
And strive to be Champs of Integrity
By Gerry Brennan / Brookline
It’s a mystery for sure
why the balls were so soft
or if this did indeed
help Tom send them aloft
but one thing is certain
in New England we cheer
the Pats and Tom Brady
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will be back next year
By Sally S. Curran / Dedham
Was thumbing through the Globe tonight
Perusing page by page
Where columns, headlines, words spotlight
Deflategate center stage.
The news of cancer research or
Of urban crime increase,
Of politics and local lore,
No military peace
Of women’s rights and aerospace,
Of Middle East unrest
All fall a sorry second place
To Number 12 obsessed.
Billed patriotic duty too
This feeding frenzy hell
Seems media, fans, readers do
Adore the NFL.
Take no more time please, I implore
No more time over this
Just let it go, and shut the door
Drop kick and then dismiss.
When asked my thoughts about this mess,
I go right out the gate
You cheat, you lie, you spy, oh yes,
And then you do deflate.
To me that screams dishonesty
I think they’re all the same.
Good men, I heard, play by the rules
In life and in the game.
By Joe Tarbell / Walpole
Listen my children and you shall hear
of a dastardly, shamelessly league-sponsored smear.
With a novelist’s touch and a trove of not much
Mr. Wells has proclaimed what’s the reach of the year.
Over two hundred pages of “maybe” and “guess,”
where not one item notes an illegal request.
A conclusion is reached of “more prob’ly than not”
our TB may have known of a deflation plot.
If you think a QB whose game prep beats them all
would want anyone randomly needling his ball
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after hours of work to get just the right feel
I’ve a bridge to be sold and can offer a deal.
By Patricia A. Carrick / Belfast, Maine
I’m wearing the tee shirt.
I’m wearing the hat.
I’m wearing the jersey,
So how about that!
I’m sick of Deflategate,
An overreaction.
I still love Tom Brady,
The Pats’ star attraction.
Whatever his misdeeds
(if misdeeds there were)
He’s not a big cheater,
And I’m very sure
That any aspersions
Against his repute
By those who are biased
Aren’t hard to refute.
The years of achievement,
Of standing so tall,
All gone in an instant
Like air from a ball?
I THINK NOT!!
The years of excitement,
Of watching him play?
I won’t let Deflategate
Take my joy away!
I stand with Tom Brady
Whatever he’s done.
He wears number 12 but
He’s still number 1.
By David McCann / Watertown
There once was a fellow named Tom
whose coif was incredibly plomb.
When opponents would bait him,
Shouting “Let’s just deflate him!”
He’d toss another forty-yard bomb.
By Noah Thomas / age 13 / Brookline
In the weeks leading up to the big game,
Deflation was all of the talk,
The Patriots put the mighty Colts to shame,
45-7, a delightful cake walk.
But how would the game change by the air in the ball,
Is a question one might ask,
Good looks, lots of money, Brady truly has it all,
To dethrone him is the national media’s task.
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After a Super Bowl victory, 28-24,
With the footballs perfectly fine,
The Patriots were hated more than ever before,
The questioners were standing in line.
Who deflated the balls? Why did you cheat?!
But the truth was finally shown,
Did they deflate footballs? Brady took all the heat,
And he began to get pushed off his throne.
Two draft picks were gone and Brady is out four games,
Goodell is not great at his work,
The haters were proud, but the Pats fans insane,
Is the end of Brady beginning to lurk?
Garoppolo will hold down the fort for sure,
As this isn’t as bad as it looks,
While this is tough for Pats fans to endure,
Our Super Bowl win is in the books!
By Rhonda I. Arsenault / Fitchburg
There once was a QB named Brady,
Whose tactics some think a bit shady.
He may take the fall
Because of a ball.
So what? Gisele’s still his lady.
Most Pats fans are done with Deflategate.
But foes may still use it as hate bait.
Pats fans will still cheer
In spite of their fear
That low temps don’t change the inflate rate.
So why such a fuss? What’s the reason?
Goodell! We all know what side he’s on!
It’s all overkill.
So listen to Bill.
His advice: “We’re on to next season.”
By Eileen M. Dahill / Woburn
What do I think of Deflate-gate?
I think it will be a long wait-gate
’Til it’s settled by all,
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But not ’til the Fall
And by then it will be a too late-gate!
Related:
• Globe Magazine: More Deflategate coverage (5/24/2015)
• A Pats fan on Deflategate: ‘apologize for nothing’
• Surveys show that Tom Brady’s consumer appeal has nosedived
• Gasper: Tom Brady must fight NFL to the end
• Shaughnessy: Now it could be Tom Brady’s turn to take his lumps
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