Boston Herald makes everyone hate Patriots more with its front page

Give the Boston Herald this much: It knew what would go viral on Wednesday, in this social media world.

Its front page, dealing with the ongoing New England Patriots deflate-gate controversy, was meant to agitate everyone outside of New England. And, the Herald did a good job of it.

Let's assume this wasn't meant to begin a nuanced look at the issue. It boils deflate-gate down to a simple notion that dismisses legitimate gripes against the Patriots.

Of course there is something to what the Herald is saying. The Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers did roughly the same thing last season, illegally heating balls to make them softer and easier to grip and catch, but they got a warning from the NFL because the NFL never cared about the issue of ball manipulation before the AFC championship game. The league started caring then because it became a big deal ... because it involved the Patriots. If you don't think the attention to the case and the subsequent excessive punishment was in large part because it involved the Patriots, you're not paying much attention.

But even though it's clear the punishment didn't fit the crime or evidence in this case, it's not correct to simply state "Everyone hates us because of four Super Bowls." That's too basic. Nobody seems to really hate the Pittsburgh Steelers (outside of Cleveland or Baltimore) or the Green Bay Packers (outside of Chicago and Minnesota) and those franchises have won titles and been good for a long time.

The Patriots rub people the wrong way, sure, but the issue isn't that simple for most folks who have actually thought critically about it.

But the Boston Herald wasn't looking for a deep discussion, just some attention. Well done on that.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab