Deflating Footballs as a Teachable Moment

The Patriots are, no doubt, a great team.... but why so much controversy around them all the time?

As a former high school coach and college athlete who still has a competitive streak in her, I enjoy all sports.  I have enjoyed professional sports but admit that I am nothing more than a casual fan of the NFL.  I know the teams, I understand the game, and I get excited when there is intense competition.  I have always felt like athletics were the place where rules mattered and were followed.  It is the place where cheaters, when found out, don't win.  Athletics reward people for doing the best that they can do and making the most of the circumstances.  It is the place where the Goliath has the same rules as the underdog, where the rich play with the same rules as the poor, and where no one is above the law. 
When the news of the deflated balls at the Colts/Pats game hit, I was stunned that no one was talking about replaying the game.  No one was talking about declaring Seattle the winner automatically.  No one was talking about actually saying that the rules mattered.  The balls were supposed to be at certain PSI because it is a standard for all NFL games, just like the goalposts are supposed to be at a certain height, and the 10 yard line is exactly 10 yards from the goal line in every stadium.  What if we played a game where we used a meter unstead of a yardstick to measure the length of the football field?  What if the goalpost uprights were 5 feet closer together?  Even if it affected each team equally, is it still NFL football?   I would think not.
How on earth do you have a conversation with your football crazy son about this incident?  Do I tell him that some people are above the law and that is the life lesson that you get out of this?  Maybe. Do I explain that rules can be bent as long as both teams agree to it or both teams benefit?  Not the lesson I want him to learn.  Do I tell him that it is always better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission?  Not a chance. 
Wait, I know what he needs to know.... It is that money is more important than integrity in the NFL, because the response to #deflategate that holds up the integrity of the game would cost too much money for anyone to even consider.  Declaring Seattle the winner or replaying the game isn't cost-effective. 
Thankfully my son is 2 years old and has no idea any of this is going on, but when he is old enough to watch and understand the game we are going to teach him the rules and hold him to those, because I think that the lesson here is this:  No one wins when you cheat, as the Patriots' legitimacy (and the league's) will always be questioned in this Super Bowl.