If you are a fan of the New England Patriots and you live in the Northeast, you most likely reacted with rage and indignation to Monday’s announcement that the N.F.L. would penalize the team for using deflated footballs.

More Patriots bashing, you might be saying — the unfair persecution of a benevolent owner, Robert K. Kraft; a rugged individualist of a coach, Bill Belichick; and a quarterback virtually assured of a place in the Hall of Fame, Tom Brady, who collectively make up a holy trinity that has delivered four Super Bowl titles to New England.

If you live in the rest of the world, you’re probably saying that it’s about time these scoundrels were punished. You might be applauding the N.F.L. for finally getting it right after a year in which the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, got just about everything wrong.

The N.F.L. suspended Brady, the most valuable player of this year’s Super Bowl and the league’s golden boy, for four regular-season games. The Patriots were also fined $1 million and lost a couple of draft picks, including next year’s first-rounder.