Roger Goodell is generally a moron.
That much is clear. His handling of the Deflategate (again with the “-gate”) left plenty to be desired, and to a degree, it’s understandable that he isn’t a popular character among New England fans. He attended the NFC Championship game instead of the AFC game today, and Patriot fans interpreted that as an act of cowardice.
But what’s important to remember here is that the Patriots have an undeniable organizational history of cheating, and Patriots fans playing the victim card is as insufferable as it is predictable.
Scott Zolak is a radio analyst for the Patriots, and he’s been pushing the “Goodell ducked the game” narrative for a few days now:
Need WHERE IS ROGER chant tomorrow like I need air
— scottzolak 🏈 (@scottzolak) January 22, 2017
If Zolak used that particular simile on purpose, more power to him, but my money is on it being unintentionally funny. (Because air.) So during the game, the Patriots jumbotron showed Zolak, the team’s radio analyst, holding up this sign:
"@rhwalzer: @Toucherandrich Zolak stirring up the crowd. Go Pats! #OneMore pic.twitter.com/abbeKpm4E2"
— Joe Wojnar (@joe_wojnar) January 23, 2017
This incited a predictable reaction:
After radio analyst @scottzolak held up a sign "Where is Roger?" and was shown on videoboard, crowd begins chanting "Roger, Roger, Roger".
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 23, 2017
And though it’s unclear if this was in direct response to Zolak’s instigation, he did get his wish at one point:
The chant was briefly audible on the broadcast as well:
Nantz not commenting on that was the easiest wager of all-time.
So Zolak got his wish, the Patriots get to go to the Super Bowl, and Roger Goodell can no longer avoid Bob Kraft and the entire team, if indeed that’s what he was doing. The worst feuds are those between unlikable parties.
[picture via Joe Wojnar]
