It doesn’t matter what the score of Super Bowl XLIX is, the New England Patriots will leave Glendale, Arizona as losers.

The best case scenario for New England is that they win their fourth Super Bowl title, and everyone in America not wearing a Patriots logo will question the validity of their championship.  If they lose the game to the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, people will shout from the mountaintops of Mount Rainier about karma being a five-letter word.

The New England Patriots have been one of the most consistent teams in the history of football, winning 12 of the past 14 AFC East titles, with 14 consecutive winning seasons.  They are the model of winning, but it doesn’t matter because the “Patriot Way” has more to do with skirting the rules than winning big games.

An ESPN report shows that the Patriots had 11 of their 12 footballs deflated exactly 2 pounds shy of the allotted weight in the team’s 45-7 AFC Championship game victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

“An under-inflated football allows the quarterback to get more leather on the ball,” Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young said on ESPN.

Although it’s abundantly clear that the Patriots didn’t need to cheat to advance to the Super Bowl against an inferior Colts team, they did….again.

The first three Patriots titles have been tainted by “Spygate,” in which they allegedly used cameras to tape opponents signals, practices and walkthroughs.

With each of Bill Belichick’s “above the law” antics, he diminishes not only his own legacy but the legacy of his team.  He also brings each of their victories into question.

There’s no way to tell whether New England’s “Spygate” or “Deflategate” assisted them at all in their victories.  With that said, if there wasn’t a competitive advantage to be gained then why would they have committed these penalties and skirted the rules once again?

The New England Patriots Super Bowl titles appear to have as much relevance as Barry Bonds home run record; And they have no one to blame but themselves.

Bill Belichick is reportedly furious about tonight's news … he wants to know who forgot to deflate the 12th ball. #PatsNation

— Michael Lombardo (@Emje2784) January 21, 2015