Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have done something I did not think was possible.
They've put an ugly splotch on one of the truly great sports days of the year.
Super Sunday is more than a football game. It now borders on a national holiday, with friends, family and others wolfing down insane amounts of food and drink in all manner of settings, all focused on the two best teams in the NFL facing off in the league's championship game.
Sure, the game itself often is less than 'super.' And there is something that has always been somewhat haughty in that name. But for many fans, it's never really been about the game. It's been about the party.
Now, thanks to the Patriots, it's no longer game. Or the party. It's about them, and what lengths they will go to win.
The Patriots are being investigated by the league for allegations that they used balls that were intentionally under-inflated in their lopsided win over the Colts in the AFC Championship game.
The belief is that a ball will less air in it is easier to handle, in other words throw and catch.
It likely had little or no effect on the 45-7 whipping the Pats laid on Andrew Luck and the Colts.
That's not the point.
This is not Belichick's first waltz down this path. In 2007, he was fined $500,000 and the team fined $250,000 and stripped of a first-round draft pick after they were caught taping the Jets signals during a game.
It got a lot of people - and a lot of Eagles fans still nursing the wounds of a Super Bowl loss to the Patriots - to wonder if things were always on the up and up.
It's hard to tell with Belichick, such is his zeal for pushing the rules to the edge. For years he would play fast and loose with the mandated league injury reports, often listing QB Tom Brady as 'probable.' He routinely signs players who are cut by teams he will face.
So far, neither Belichick nor the Patriots have commented on the latest scandal. The coach is expected to meet the media today.
I certainly do not expect anyone to be suspended for the Super Bowl over this kerfuffle. The Seahawks certainly don't want to possibly see their push for a second straight Super Bowl crown tainted by playing a team not at their best.
Next year? Who knows, maybe a fine or a suspension.
I don't expect Belichick to change. That arrogance is part of what makes him the best coach in the NFL.
But you have to wonder how long the league will allow him to bend the rules to his advantage. Especially when it starts to stain their premier event.
There is one other thing Belichick has done this week that I didn't think was possible. I've never much liked the Seahawks and their brash, trash-talking way of doing things.
Belichick just made me their biggest fan.
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