Patriots fans taunted absent Goodell, chanted ‘Where is Roger?’
New England Patriots fans celebrated the raising of a Super Bowl banner, an opening-week victory against a quality opponent and the opportunity to zing their biggest offseason tormentor.
Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Patriots leading the Pittsburgh Steelers by two touchdowns, the deluge began. Yes, there was rain, but the sounds of Patriots fans was what really rained down the hardest.
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WHERE IS ROG-ER? WHERE IS ROG-ER?
That was the chant that echoed through Gillette Stadium and was aimed directly at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who chose — wisely, it now appears — not to attend Thursday’s game.
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And with that, HBO’s Bill Simmons might have lost a bet. Check out his tweet from before kickoff:
Goodell, of course, set a dead course on Brady this offseason with the whole NFL armada behind him trying to prove that the quarterback engineered a devious, evil plan to deflate footballs. Which of course backfired in the commissioner’s face when the Brady four-game suspension Goodell handed down to him was overruled in court.
So not only did Goodell lose in court, but he missed an entertaining opening game. That said, Goodell might not set foot in Gillette for another decade.
But the best reaction to this was from Marcus Vick, troubled brother of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mike Vick and an unintentionally hilarious follow on Twitter. Marcus had a question for his loyal followers.
Brilliant. Just brilliant. Not that his brother ever talked to the man or anything. And if Goodell needs someone to talk to without bias, Marcus might be his guy.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
