Just weeks after the conclusion of Serial, a new mystery has taken hold of America.
The 'Deflate-gate' controversy has gripped America, and has lead news broadcasts in the country despite more important things happening elsewhere in the world.
That's the strangehold that football has on American psyche.
For those who haven't been following, the New England Patriots have been accused of tampering with the balls they used in the AFC Championship game where they hammered the Indianapolis Colts to get to the Super Bowl which is due to be played this Sunday.
Breaking: A league source tells me the NFL is investigating the possibility the Patriots deflated footballs Sunday night. More to come.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) January 19, 2015
Subsequent investigation has revealed that 11 of the 12 balls that the Patriots used during the game were exactly 2 pounds under the air pressure they should have been.
But now, a fresh development has occurred. According to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, the NFL is zeroing in on a suspect. The 'person of interest' is a locker room attendant, apparently seen with both teams' footballs after they had been approved, and there is video evidence of him going into "another area of the field" with both sets of footballs.
Breaking news: sources tell @FOXSports the NFL has zeroed in on a locker room attendant w Patriots who ... http://t.co/uGAk8i139X
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) January 26, 2015
Dun dun dun...
Exciting I know. Added to that, PFT for NBC Sports has reported that the "other area of the field" was in fact a bathroom. They report that the Patriots discovered this video surveillance and submitted it to the NFL for their investigation.
What's clear is that interest in this should remain for the time being. Hopefully things blow over in time for the minor event of the actual Superbowl, but until then the question must be asked.
Can one man deflate 11 balls in 90 seconds?