FOXBORO, Mass. — Expect to see a different shade of blue at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night.
Not the navy blue of the New England Patriots’ uniforms. A lighter, sky blue — the color of Barstool Sports’ Roger Goodell clown T-shirt, which Patriots defensive coordinator famously wore on the team’s return flight home from Super Bowl LI.
With the NFL commissioner set to visit Gillette Stadium for New England’s season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Barstool’s founder, Dave Portnoy, transferred the Goodell shirt design onto a towel and ordered a whopping 70,000 of them.
The plan is to distribute the towels to fans ahead of Thursday’s nationally televisioned game.
The towels will add another layer to what should be a festive and raucous atmosphere in Foxboro on the night the Patriots unveil their fifth Super Bowl banner. Goodell, who remains a villain in the eyes of many Patriots fans for his role in Deflategate, hasn’t attended a meaningful game at Gillette Stadium since the 2014Â AFC Championship Game, though he was on hand for New England’s preseason opener this year.
Unsurprisingly, Patriots coach Bill Belichick brushed off a question during his Tuesday morning news conference about the planned Goodell mockery.
“Yeah, I’m not really too concerned about all the exterior things with the game,” Belichick said. “We’re just trying to get ready for the Chiefs.”
Portnoy, who was arrested in 2015 for staging an anti-Goodell protest at NFL headquarters, responded to Belichick’s comments on Twitter.
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Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
