By now, it's become evident that the New England Patriots are the most hated professional sports team in America. That's saying something, considering many thought the New York Yankees to be insurmountable in that regard.

The dubious distinction was cemented when the National Football League launched its inquiry into whether the Patriots cheated by using deflated footballs during their blowout victory against the Indianapolis Colts, earning the team a spot in Sunday's Super Bowl. The controversy, dubbed "Deflategate," gained more media attention and criticism than atrocities committed by ISIS and President Obama's "State of the Union" address. One night, all four major TV networks led off with the issue of how to, and how not to, properly inflate a football.

The strange scandal has provided plenty of fodder for the late night comics.

It is possible that the Patriots violated a rule that gave them a slight advantage - that has yet to be determined. But it is clear that the reason "deflategate" has been inflated into such a scandal, accompanied by a rush to judgment, is that these are the New England Patriots, the most successful NFL team of the century. If football inflation were questioned in an Oakland Raiders or Atlanta Falcons game, it would be a blip in the great American discourse.

No one seems to care that quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers has said that he prefers to throw a football that is over-inflated, in violation of NFL rules requiring a reading of between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch. No one appears to notice when retired NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason says that under-inflating and over-inflating a football is common practice. Not surprisingly, a quarterback prefers a football that feels comfortable coming out of his hand.

Still, there was much consternation when Patriots QB Tom Brady acknowledged he, unlike Rodgers, likes a football that is less inflated, while insisting he followed the rules, joining Coach Bill Belichick in denying the accusations of cheating.

Critics pounced as if this were the most sordid scandal since Watergate.

I was surprised to read Day Assistant Sports Editor Mike DiMauro's Jan. 25 column condemning the Patriot organization as cheaters and pointing to Belichick as cheater in chief. He asked Patriots' followers: "Are you really, truly sure Belichick has won anything of note without the Patriots cheating?"

The public, before throwing brickbats, should look closely at the body of work compiled by the Patriots since 2001 under the Belichick-Brady partnership.

• Belichick has been named coach of the year three times and has a 175-65 record with the Patriots.

• Between 2001 and 2010, the Belichick-Brady duo had 126 regular-season and post-season wins, the most of any coach-quarterback combination during any decade in NFL history. They won 12 divisional titles and appeared in nine American Football Conference championship games in the last 14 years.

• This will be Brady's sixth Super Bowl, the most of any quarterback. He has 20 post-season wins, another record, and only eight losses.

• Brady and Joe Montana are the only players to win Most Valuable Player awards for both the regular season and the Super Bowl multiple times. Brady will join him in the Hall of Fame.

There is something more than cheating going on here, namely a plethora of talent and quality coaching, aided by a strong management structure.

"The Patriot empire is a sham," wrote Mike DiMauro. You be the judge.

Granted, there was another "gate" - Spygate - in 2007. The Patriots videotaped the defensive signals of the New York Jets during a game, a violation of NFL rules. The commissioner's office properly disciplined the team. DiMauro is wrong, Belichick has apologized for Spygate on several occasions, including a de facto apology in an Associated Press story published the same day as DiMauro's column.

Spygate was the genesis of Belichick the cheater, the jumping off point for the current hysteria. Let it be said that Belichick, while not the most cuddly person around, appears to be a decent human being, at least as his life is described in the book, "Patriot Reign," by Michael Holley.

Spygate is the one documented ethical lapse and the jury is out on "Deflategate."

What is indisputable to everyone, except for the most fervent haters, is that the Patriots since the turn of the century have fielded an extremely well-coached team that consistently has gotten the most out of its talent. The venom directed against this team can be explained in two words: Patriots envy.

Stan DeCoster is a retired reporter and editor for The Day. He also is a long-time follower of the New England Patriots.