Williams

Jonathan Williams
Christen Enos
English 1111
24 January 2016
Negative Publicity Still Pays: Why Deflategate was a Success
How you ever read the comments on a Deflategate article? Comments range from the
lone New England Patriots fan hopelessly backing his team, to the bitter Indianapolis Colts fan
ranting about how the NFL should ban the Patriots from the league, as they got caught cheating a
second time. However, there is one opinion that everyone can agree upon; the scandal revolving
around the Patriots taking air out of footballs was handled horribly by the NFL. Many people are
sold on this idea, that Deflategate was an utter failure, but SB Nation writer Alec Shane believes
otherwise. Shane writes his article, Deflategate was a Massive Success, in an effort to persuade
any reader with knowledge of the Deflategate situation that the scandal benefited the NFL, and
his piece is structured in a way to make the reader believe his point of view.
In Shanes article, the rhetorical situation is the ongoing Deflategate controversy, a
controversy that has caught the eye of a wide variety of NFL fans. Deflategate surrounds the
New England Patriots; an organization that is still reeling from their alleged participation in
Spygate during the mid 2000s (Van Natta Jr.). This time around, the allegation is that the Patriots
deflated footballs in order to gain an unfair advantage during a cold, mid-January game. The
NFL took an unprecedented approach and launched a multi-million-dollar investigation into the
matter, which came to the conclusion that it was more probable than not the Patriots engaged
in a scheme to deflate footballs and quarterback Tom Brady was at least generally aware of the
scheme (McCann). The consequences were harsh, notably Tom Bradys four game suspension to

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start the 2015 season. After loosing his league appeal, Tom Brady took the case to court, where
the NFLs argument was dismantled, as they had little to no evidence backing their claims, and
the four game suspension of Tom Brady was lifted (McCann). Since the NFL could not succeed
in suspending Tom Brady for his alleged association with the controversy, the investigation is
viewed by most as a failure for the league.
Shanes motive is clearly stated at the beginning of his article, as the subtitle claims Was
Deflategate really a failure? I certainly dont think so (Shane), but what is exigency that
inspired Shane to write? Shanes desire to write came after he read and an article by Sports
Illustrateds Michael McCann, titled The Anatomy of a Failed Controversy. After reading this
article, Shane realized that he didnt quite agree with McCanns opinion. He states that
Usually I read Mr. McCann and find much to agree with; he's a lawyer, he knows the law,
and he took a look at both sides while coming to a fairly reasonable conclusion. In this
case, however, he and I are going to have to disagree. Deflategate was not a failed
controversy. In fact, I'd go so far as to call it a triumphant success (Shane).
Shane did not write his article because he thinks points that McCann states are unreasonable.
What he disagrees with the is McCanns opinion, that Deflategate is a failed controversy
(McCann). Using this radical idea that Deflategate was not failure, He formulated his belief and
wrote his article, an effort to persuade readers that Deflategate was actually a huge success.
For the people who watched the Deflategate controversy unfold, it is evident that thinking
of Deflategate as a success for the league is quite bizarre, which gives Shane reason to persuade
them it is not with a piece of persuasive writing. Shane is a writer for the sports website SB
Nation, and as SB nation is a sports website, the members of the audience Shane is addressing

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are sports fans. Particularly, Shane is a writer for Pats Pulpit, a Patriots portion of the SB Nation
website. This indicates that the reader likely stays up to date with Patriots news, whether its out
of admiration or haste. However, Shanes article is not about the Patriots this time, it is about the
NFL as a corporation. To create a claim that persuades both Patriots fans and haters, Shane
enhances his document by taking arguments about Deflategate from both parties to unite them
under common opinion. Through this effort, Shane was able to prove that everything the league
had done to draw the two groups apart has been a huge success for their business. When Shane
had the revelation that Deflategate was a massive success, he wrote his article with the purpose
of convincing the the audience of this idea. And it was for this reason that Shane chose to write
in the genre of persuasive writing; to persuade the audience.
In order prove his point, Shane formats the design of his article by dividing it into eight
separate points, each embellishing upon a reason why Deflategate was a huge success for the
league. Some his points include the idea that Deflategate put the NFL in the news over the entire
year, including the during the six months when there is no football being played, the theory that
it diverted the fans attention away from very serious issues within the league, such as domestic
violence, substance abuse, and the use of PEDs, and the fact that the NFL received a copious
amount of money from jersey and ticket sales, as well as increased ratings (Shane). The use of
points allows for the reader systematically take into account the evidence that Shane brings to the
discussion. Each point brings up an idea with room for debate, and Shane backs each idea with a
reasonable explanation. By using points, the reader doesnt need to read an entire paragraph to
find out the main reasons why Shane believes Deflategate was a success.

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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Among other design aspects, the image chosen also enhances Shanes claim. In an article,
the picture can be just as important of as the content, as it may be one of the first aspects that
catches the readers eye. Since he believes that NFL fans were deceived by the way the league
handled Deflategate, Shane added a picture of Roger Goodell smiling, possibly in a sinister way.
Not only does this provide some comedic relief to the article, but the way he is smiling is
reminiscent to the troll face; an image commonly related to someone being duped, which
expresses Goodells happiness that Deflategate worked out successfully. With the Image, Shane
is able to enhance his claim, further persuading the audience that Deflategate was a success.
Shane also carefully articulates the persona of his article in order to remain persuasive.
His tone throughout the article is often very critical, accusing, and sometimes angry, appealing to
the idea that the NFL pulled a sly move in the way they presented Deflategate. Throughout the

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article, Shane uses one-sided language to amplify the absurdity of the situation in his perspective.
Phrases such as Blatantly obvious, Massive boon, and Ignorant fool can be found
throughout the piece, portraying his personal opinion, as a Patriots fan, that the NFL was
deceptive. Besides his destructive word choice, the Shane implements the use of many
ridiculous, informal phrases to both develop interest and enhance his opinion. When describing
how other teams fans interpret the little evidence convicting the Patriots, Shane describes it as
the equivalent to Tom Brady slaughtering an entire box of puppies in front of a burning
orphanage whose door has been barricaded by his four tainted trophies (Shane). Instead of
taking a more formal approach, Shane uses gross, humorous language to paint a better picture for
the audience of how the NFL presented their data in a way to maximize the publicity. Shanes
goal in the articles persona is to create an atmosphere that both ridicules the league for
embarrassing the Patriots with its publicity stunt, as well as appeal on the emotions of Pats fans
who feel the same way, which helps to bolster his opinion to the audience.
When considering the rhetorical appeal of this article, one would think that it would
appeal to logos, as each point is backed by reason. However, the points in this piece of writing
are not always backed by credible information, so we can not determine that the entire article
appeals to logos. For example, in his fourth point, Shane states, it took one of the slowest times
of the football news cycle (Shane), then never provides any evidence to prove that the week
before the Super Bowl is one of the slowest times for football news. This is not typical for all his
points, as some do have credible, cited information backing them, or they are just common
knowledge. For example, in his fifth point, Shane states that Deflategate was presented in a way
that allowed for speculation to become fact (Shane). There is no approach that can be used to
back this with credible facts, but the way Shane continues to explain his point allows us to

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determine that this point does appeal to logos. For the points that do not appeal to logos, most of
the rest appeal to pathos, as Shane is trying to provoke an emotional response from the audience
through anger or realization. Shane wants the reader to see what the NFL did was devious, and
the reader should be angry or at least intrigued by his points. By provoking this emotional
response, Shane can persuade the reader in the same way as an appeal to logos, by making the
reader believe in his ideas.
When formulating an argument, it is important to realize that all aspects of the piece
contribute to the strength of the argument, an idea that Shane uses to his advantage in his article.
Whether it is the content, the citations, how the paper looks, or the language used, Shane
articulated his paper in a way to persuade the reader that Deflategate was not a failure, but a
success. In the end, even if Shane failed to persuade the reader to adapt his ideas, he articulated
an article effective at drawing in and entertaining any Patriots or NFL fans, creating publicity;
one of the main reasons why one would write an article. After all, his article is based of the idea
that there is never such thing as a bad argument, as long as it creates enough publicity.

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Works Cited
"Alec Shane." Pats Pulpit. Vox Media, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
McCann, Michael. "Deflategate, One Year Later: The Anatomy of a Failed Controversy." Sports
Illustrated. Time, 18 Jan. 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
Shane, Alec. "Deflategate Was a Massive Success." Pats Pulpit. Vox Media, 19 Jan. 2016. Web.
26 Jan. 2016.
Van Natta Jr., Dan, and Seth Wickersham. "Spygate to Deflategate: Inside What Split the NFL
and Patriots Apart." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.