DeflateGate is to Joe Montana what Tommy is to Henry Hill.
Via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Western Pennsylvania native turned Hall of Fame quarterback weighed in on the football-deflation scandal while in town for a Gridiron Gold event honoring the six native sons who threw a football all the way to Canton: Montana, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, George Blanda, and Johnny Unitas.
“Funny” is how Montana described it.
“Everybody is trying to do something different,” Montana said. “Our offensive linemen used to spray silicone on their shirts until they got caught. Once you get caught, you get caught. Period. It doesn’t take anything away from Tom [Brady’s] game. But how long has he been doing it? I don’t know.”
Montana seems to be amazed at how big of a deal it all became.
“It is one of those things that is a rule, right?” Montana said. “It might be a dumb rule, but it doesn’t matter. He didn’t deflate them himself, but you can pick up the ball and can tell if it is underinflated, overinflated or what you like. Everybody is afraid to say it, but if the guy did it, so what. Just pay up and move on. It’s no big deal.”
It’s too late to call #DeflateGate not a big deal. It’s definitely a big deal, and it will continue to be a big deal through the night the NFL team that plays in Pittsburgh travels to New England to play the Patriots, and beyond.