There's a petition on Change.org to disqualify New England from the Super Bowl and the AFC Championship. Where to even begin?
The movement was started on the popular social signature site on Jan. 21 and has since gathered more then 38,000 pledges in six days. Thanks to pre-existing biases against the Patriots and the fallout from Deflate-gate the fervor around the 2015 AFC Championship has caused quite a stir.
MORE: PHOTOS: Super Bowl rings | SNL spoofs Deflate-gate | Patriots in Madden
In part, the petition reads:
To maintain the legitimacy of this year's NFL Championship the Patriots should be immediately disqualified and the two teams they beat to advance should be allowed to continue with the playoff process. The AFC championship should be replayed to determine a rightful representative for the AFC in this year's Super Bowl.
Ah, seems reasonable. What kind of perfectly logical outcome would we like to see as a result of this petition?
Immediately disqualify Patriots and replay AFC Championship between the Colts and Ravens
Wait, back up. So not only are we saying the Patriots did not smash Indianapolis, 45-7, thanks to three Colts turnovers and 148 yards rushing by LeGarrette Blount, but we're also erasing the fact that New England beat the Ravens, 35-31, in the divisional round?
Seems fair.
The petition was apparently started by the profile of someone named Scott Latshaw. A quick google search of that name and a matching LinkedIn profile with the same photo shows Mr. Latshaw as a wealth manager based in Baltimore. A phone call placed to his office did not return Sporting News' call at time of publication.
In any case, there's no possible way this finds any real footing with the NFL as they zero in on a locker room attendant from Gillette Stadium. You've got to love Ravens fans for trying, though.
New England and Seattle square off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 1 in Arizona.