Welcome to 3 days ago. That still doesn't explain how how the Colts were still in spec and the Pats weren't. 13.5 - 1.8 = less than 12.5, for the millionth time. Unless Indy's balls were kept in heated box with blankets on the sidelines, or they severely overinflated their balls at the start of the game, or the refs didn't measure right. This is why there's a major investigation.
You think you're so smart with that simple math but all it really shows is that you ignorantly assume those were the only factors. HA! Did you forget that the Colts prefer a tight ball? If I take a can of compressed air that is room temperature and decompress it, what happens? At room temperature, the contents of that can had the same temperature as an equivalent size of the air outside it, but it occupies MUCH MORE volume when you decompress it, which is why you get frost from cans of compressed air. Every idiot knows this, which is why YOU should know this and those inflating the ball to their QB's preference knows this. If you want to inflate to maximum spec, you must compensate for the PSI being temporarily increased by the increased temperature of the compressed air (now well ABOVE room temperature). Duh.
The temperature in which they were inflated and the amount of time they had to cool off (relative temperature increases when you inflate) affect it GREATLY. To satisfy their QB's preference for deflated balls, the Pats would have likely inflated indoors with hot normal temperature air just before handing them off to be inspected. Then the balls would be hot and have more PSI to lose as it drops to the outdoor temperature. The Colts preferred theirs tight, so they would inflate with cold air outside if they could help it, well in advance, and top it off to the high end of the spec again after the ball cooled to the cold ambient temps outdoors.
Only an idiot would assume that their 13.5 was equivalent and comparable to the Pats' 12.5. Guess what that makes the "13.5-1.8 = <12.5" crowd?! You don't know how they were stored before or during the game nor do you know how long it took to measure them again (could have warmed back up indoors) nor do you know how soon they were inflated prior to initial inspection nor do you know what temperature the air they used to inflate it was. If you had a clue, you wouldn't DARE bring up the stupid "Well why were the Colts' balls in spec?" argument.
Note: I hate football and do not care about either team. I care about stupidity bandwagons, and BOY do I see a lot of those around this issue!
It really comes down to this: BOTH teams knew the cold would drop the PSI and BOTH teams compensated to get the ball closer to their preference. Simple. When you ask why the Colts' balls were still in spec, it's because they COMPENSATED exactly as I described. Knowing the cold weather works against their QB's preference, they'd be stupid not to, but it doesn't even need to be deliberate if their balls were simply filled and presented differently as I described. That's why it isn't worth arguing over and the argument that their balls should also be out of spec is stupid.