What started with Ray Rice will end with under-inflated footballs. 2014 has been a year of controversy for commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL, and it's only fitting that the Patriots' AFC championship transgressions should dominate the end-of-season headlines.
First, an aside. I am a lifelong fan of the Patriots. Born and raised in the heart of New England, I have long stood by Bill Belichick and his merry band of winners.
The Deflategate scandal that has been national news for a week and a half was a frustrating experience for all, especially for someone who invests so much of their time and devotion to the team.
Ultimately, I doubt the NFL's ruling will come down before the Super Bowl. As more and more information trickles out and Belichick bickers with Bill Nye the Science Guy, the common statement from all is that they expect this investigation to last several more weeks.
Regardless of the ruling, though, this story is a fitting end to this season.
Looking back, fans of the NFL will remember 2014 as the year of the Never-Ending Controversy.
First there was Ray Rice and the errors made by the league office in handling his punishment. Then there was Adrian Peterson and the swift punishment laid down by Goodell and the Minnesota Vikings.
There were a sprinkling of smaller scandals like Ray McDonald, Greg Hardy, Jonathan Dwyer and others.
There was Josh Gordon and his multiple failed drug tests which led to debate over whether or not marijuana use should be banned.
There was the ongoing battle of fines and threatened penalties between the NFL and Marshawn Lynch, whose fondness to grab his crotch in celebration of big plays was a constant headache for Goodell.
And now there's Deflategate, a seemingly innocuous story of under-inflated footballs that had national news sources like CNN and FOX making quips and carrying NFL press conferences as lead stories on the nightly news.
The NFL couldn't catch a break this year. Even when it tried to do good, someone somewhere felt as if the league had messed up.
Maybe this is just deserts for the league. Maybe after years of unparalleled success and expansion it was time, karmically, for the NFL to be cut back down to size.
As fans of the league, we really should have seen Deflategate coming. Maybe not the exact details, but the emergence of a new controversy was all but inevitable in a year chock full of them.
With the offseason approaching, the league has some serious reevaluation to do. Changes were made to the domestic violence policy after the mishandling of the Rice situation but maybe more changes need to be made.
Maybe the substance abuse policy needs reconsideration. Maybe it's finally time for the NFL to reassume responsibility for game balls rather than allowing teams to control them.
Many of us eagerly await the Super Bowl for the culmination of the season. We want to see that one last game, the hoisting of the Vince Lombardi trophy and the conclusion to the wild ride.
Goodell is likely just as eager, but for different reasons. For the battle-tested commissioner, the Super Bowl represents the final hurdle in a trying year. After that, he can hit the reset button and move on from the Year of the Scandal.
Reach the columnist at ibeck@asu.edu or on Twitter @icbeck21.
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