Roger Goodell has made a promise that he will attend the NFL Kickoff game Sept. 7 at Gillette Stadium when the New England Patriots take on the Kansas City Chiefs. But will the NFL commissioner be an impartial observer?
Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt doesn’t believe so.
Patriots fans aren’t very fond of Goodell, to put it lightly, after they perceived he made a mountain out of a molehill concerning Deflategate. Goodell hasn’t attended a game at Gillette Stadium since the deflated footballs story broke following the AFC Championship Game between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18, 2015.
It’s unlikely New Englanders will look at Goodell more fondly after he laughed at the idea of cheering for the Chiefs rather than the Patriots in the 2017 kickoff game. Then again, what would it take for Patriots fans to suddenly become fans of Goodell? Short of splitting his 2017 salary between all New England residents (everyone would get roughly $2.31), giving the Patriots back their first-round pick, building a time machine and reversing his decision to uphold Tom Brady’s four-game suspension and literally kissing Bill Belichick’s rings, probably nothing.
So, Goodell will be booed heartily at the kickoff game, which, on top of celebrating the Patriots’ Super Bowl LI victory, should give New Englanders plenty of joy. Deflategate was a nuisance, but the Patriots have won two Super Bowls since the controversy was sparked.
And while it would be pretty funny to see Goodell rocking red and yellow at Gillette Stadium, he’ll almost certainly be rocking a generic baseball hat and some sort of neutral quarter zip sweater instead.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
