In the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl, the biggest story on practically any news station was Deflategate, a scandal in which the New England Patriots were accused of purposely deflating footballs in the AFC Championship game. While early speculation-based reports indicated that 11 of 12 footballs were deflated, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady denied responsibility; recent evidence exonerating the Patriots shows that only 1 of 12 Patriots footballs were seriously deflated. However, lots of major world events occurred during these two weeks that clearly were more important than an hourly status update on Tom Brady’s footballs. Here are some stories that the media should have been focusing on instead of Deflategate.

1. Terrorist organization Boko Haram massacred more than 2000 people in Nigerian villages.
2. Astronomers discovered a planet 400 light years away with rings more than 400 times the size of Saturn’s.
3. In the Middle East, ISIS continued to executed innocent people (Japanese journalists).
4. A blizzard dumped a mountain of snow in the Northeast. New York got over 12” and Boston got between 2 and 3 feet!
5. A measles outbreak spread rapidly across the United States.

Despite concerns that Deflategate posed a major distraction to Patriots players as they prepared for the Super Bowl, Deflategate ended up being the ultimate motivation for them as they thrillingly defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX (49).

Many say that the Deflategate scandal has further tarnished the Patriots image.

Photo courtesy of media.cmgdigital.com

Here is an incredible photo of the rings of the new planet recently discovered by astronomers.

Photo courtesy of cnn.com

Wow! Good luck getting your car out! Boston and the northeastern United States were walloped with snow this January, bringing 2-3 feet of snow to some areas.

Photo courtesy of csmonitor.com