Not long after the clock struck midnight in Cleveland, the big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the first one in five years, had already been forgotten. The joy of finally overcoming the AFC North rival deflated and distorted into a media-frenzy of questions and moments of dead air—because even the ones who get paid to make sure dead air doesn’t happen were speechless.
In case you missed it:
Although the NFL will inevitably over-starch the canvas while trying to iron this debacle out, the courts of public opinion work a little more quickly. Beyond those who have been self-appointed as Measurers of Proper Football Inflating, there were some strong takes from both current and ex-NFL players, no more than 20-some minutes after the ugly (ugliest?) incident occurred:
And then, in the left corner, the man fighting out of Oklahoma State:
In the right corner, fighting out of Texas A&M:
Probably the most-reasonable sound clips to come out of this, so far, has been from the coaches:
Those expecting quick and precise justice for this incident might want to hit the breaks, too—there has already been a scorecard debate that judges this bout as more of a push, a “He took my lunch, first!” ordeal.
And no, I don’t think Odell Beckham Jr. was fined for any uniform infractions tonight.
