The New England Patriots won the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts 45-7, which sent them to Super Bowl 49, which they will play in this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. However, the win was marred by a scandal that the internet quickly dubbed “DeflateGate”; the Patriots were accused of deflating their own footballs under the NFL Limit of 12.5 PSI. This may have enabled the Patriots to be able to catch and throw the ball a little bit easier. But is the difference really that noticeable?
To find out, this reporter took a regulation size replica NFL Football and set its inflation at 11 and then 10.5 PSI, which was what the Patriots were accused of using during their AFC Championship Game.

I then handed it to two Osceola football players- Quarterback Ryan Allan, a junior, and Strong Safety Nick Shytle, also a junior. Ryan Allan was given the ball with 11 PSI and Nick Shytle was given the ball with 10.5.

Ryan Allan threw a deep pass to one of his friends, and when the ball was returned, had good things to say about it.  “Feels great to me,” he remarked. Ryan also gave his opinion on the DeflateGate scandal.
“I don’t know too much about it. If the ball is flat, they shouldn’t be playing with it,” he said.

Next, strong safety Nick Shytle was given a football deflated down to 10.5 PSI, which what the New England Patriots were supposedly using in the AFC Championship Game. After tossing around the ball and asking how it felt, Nick had an interesting answer. “It feels pumped up,” he remarked. Nick was very surprised when told that the ball was actually two PSI under the NFL limit.  “So if this was in an NFL game, it wouldn’t be regulation?” he asked in surprise.

It appears that sometimes Osceola’s football players can’t tell if a football is properly inflated or not; the difference is just too slim to notice. Despite this, there is still outcry over what the Patriots did, and some people even want the Patriots banned from the Super Bowl. Do you think the Patriots cheated? Vote in the poll below!