Roger Goodell did his best last season to avoid the New England Patriots, but that won’t be the case in 2017. As the defending Super Bowl champions, the Patriots have the benefit of hosting the first game of the season, and the NFL commissioner said he will be in attendance on Sept. 7.
Roger Goodell plans to attend the Patriots 2017 season opener in New England
Goodell was able to dodge the Patriots during the 2016 season, but this will mark two games in a row he’s had to attend their games.
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Tuesday evening at the owners meeting in Phoenix, Goodell told the media, “I plan to be at the kickoff game.”
Just a day earlier, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Goodell would be welcomed to the team’s opener.
“As we all know, he has the right to go wherever he wishes to go,” Kraft said via the Boston Herald. “And if he wanted to come, he’s welcomed to come. We’re happy we’ll be celebrating our fifth banner. He can decide whether he wants to be there.”
Typically this wouldn’t be a surprise, since Goodell usually attends the first game of the season. Yet after Goodell and the Patriots went through the long, drawn out Deflategate controversy — which concluded with Tom Brady being suspended the first four games of the season — he avoided any trips to New England.
He didn’t attend the Patriots playoff game against the Texans last postseason, opting to watch the Falcons take on the Seahawks. The next week, he saw the Falcons yet again, this time taking on the Packers. Patriots fans let him know they were aware, chanting “Where is Roger!?” during the AFC Championship against the Steelers.
Goodell couldn’t dodge the Patriots at Super Bowl 51, however. He handed Kraft the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.
It will be Goodell’s first game in New England since the AFC Championship in January 2015, which sparked Deflategate.
See More:
