You were the best. This was your chance to prove it. No more talk of 2008. Or 2012. No more disappointing home loss in January either. You came back and beat the hated Ravens in incredible fashion. You pounded Luck and the Colts and had your shot at history. The table was set. You, along with your mysterious head coach created an opportunity made only for Hollywood. A chance at redemption out in the desert where you blew your perfect season. A shot to make history out in Glendale. But you blew it. You lied. Problem is you lied with a smile. Your normal West Coast swag couldn’t get you out of this one. That smile blew you in to a nation of sports fans who are all watching TV shows like Law and Order and CSI when they aren’t watching SportCenter. We saw right through you. These are the same fans that know all teams bend the rules. It has been going on forever. It is understood. Just like it is understood that if you get caught, you fess up. You take the blame. You don’t pass the buck. You don’t let the little guy take the hit. Loyalty to an organization goes from the top to the bottom. Someone like you could have used this opportunity to take the blame and move forward. Instead you lied and turned this into a he said she said game that will never end. Never for you that is.

So you pounded the Colts two weeks before your chance at redemption. When the news broke of what you had allegedly did prior to kickoff of that beat down I couldn’t believe it was happening. It literally took away from your chance to talk about your place in history. Instead, the entire world wanted to know why? Why are people saying you cheated? Why are people asking if you had done anything to the footballs? Why would you do something so stupid with so much to lose? How could you have taken such a ridiculous risk? This was your chance to set the record straight. But you didn’t come clean. You hid behind the moment. You dodged the inevitable truth and put on an incredible performance in the biggest game of your life. It solidified your greatness, but it will never gain you the respect that you lost by lying through your teeth.
               

I also want to point out that you are blessed to have this chance. You know it. Football fans know it. Bledsoe never goes down you wait a lot longer for your shot. He never goes down your coach definitely would have after the year you got out there. New England quickly forgets how badly they wanted your coach gone. You changed all of that. You came in and did the impossible. You won three championships in four years of the bench after being picked 199th overall. You took over the division. You took over the conference. You won four rings. You will go to Canton and bring ten guys who wouldn’t have gone otherwise with you. You put Boston on the map. Baseball ruled until you showed up. Twenty years ago Bills fans could scalp tickets in Foxboro for 40 bucks. Try even parking for that price down there now. All because of you. The All American California Dream. Arguably the greatest ever, but not any more. You blew it Tom. You blew it and it doesn’t matter what you do anymore. People will never forget this and you will be labeled. The Scarlet Letter. You are Barry Bonds. You are A-Rod. Not because you pumped yourself with steroids. You were willing to let someone else go down. You played with someone else’s reputation and now the joke is on. You will always be in the discussion but from now on you are the guy who cheated and didn’t even have to.