Gamesmanship
Trickery, questionable sportsmanship and outright cheating
If you ask me, and you didn't, I like the colorful gamesmanship stories from NFL history. Do they cross the line between outsmarting the opponent and cheating? Eh. Sometimes. Should the NFL be more ironfisted about such things? Maybe, but only for the most flagrant ones. What's flagrant? I don't know. Can I appeal to a good-natured, common sensibility? No? Nuts to that.
Giants Stadium (the Meadowlands) - Giants owner William Mara caught a cold on the sidelines one game. This upset his wife. Thereafter, the Giants always took the sideline with more sun exposure during cold games.
The New York Giants and Jets are rumored to open and close stadium tunnel doors during field goals to manipulate the drafty conditions in the Meadowlands.
The Minnesota Vikings are rumored to turn their stadium's air conditioning on and off to manipulate conditions during field goals and kickoffs.
At the 1976 AFC Championship game (1975 season, Ice Bowl II) between the Oakland Raiders and the home Pittsburgh Steelers, the tarp protecting the artificial turf ripped during the night. Ice formed on the field. The next day, Steelers ground crew poured water on the ice, presumably to melt it. Naturally, they only succeeded in making more ice. Raiders cried foul. Owner Al Davis fumed at Commissioner Pete Rozelle that the field conditions were unfair to the Raiders, who relied on a deep threat passing game. Steelers won.
At a 1983 AFC Championship game (1982 season, the famous A.J. Duhe Game) between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, the Dolphins allegedly kept the Orange Bowl field exposed to the elements. The soggy field slowed the faster Jets team and speedy running game. Dolphins won.
During the early 21st century, the Denver Broncos sent cameramen to videotape division rival San Diego Chargers practice from a hill that overlooked their stadium.
Indoor teams were rumored to pipe-in artificial crowd noise to make it harder for the visiting teams' QBs under center.
In 2007, Bill Belichick was caught sending a video cameraman with Patriots credentials to video tape Jets defensive coaches sending in signals to on-field players. This directly violated an NFL rule against filming signal calling coaches during games.
