Sicking it to Goodell

I shall be rooting for the New England Patriots on Sunday to win Super Bowl LI.  It's not because they beat my Pittsburgh Steelers and "I want the team that beat my team to win it all so I can mistakenly think that my team would have won too if they had made it".  It's not because I'm an "AFC guy".  It's not because the Atlanta Falcons beat the Green Bay Packers and that somehow makes them bad guys.  It's not because I think a Patriots win will somehow "solidify" Tom Brady's status as "the greatest quarterback ever" or Bill Belichick as "the greatest coach in football history".  And it's certainly not because I want the Pats to draw within one win of the Steelers record of six Super Bowl championships.

I shall be rooting for the Patriots for just one reason: I want to see NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have to hand the Vince Lombardi Trophy to owner Robert Kraft, Belichick and Brady in what promises to be the most awkward moment in NFL history.  Since handing down his ridiculous punishment on the Patriots for "Deflate-gate"--and then having to take Tom Brady to Federal Court (and almost all the way to the Supreme Court), Goodell has been ducking the franchise.  "Scheduling conflicts" have prevented the Commish from attending any games in Foxboro since the scandal.  He decided that the NFC Championship Game in Atlanta was a more important place to be two weeks ago.  He even refused to answer questions this week about "Deflate-gate", the punishments handed down and the legal battles involving Brady.  So a Patriots win on Sunday would force Goodell to stand there and at least acknowledge the franchise still exists.

I shall also be rooting for Tom Brady to win the Super Bowl MVP award.  On the Monday after the Super Bowl, the Commissioner does a press conference and photo shoot with the MVP--and I want to see the look on Goodell's face as he poses with the QB that he took to court to suspend for the first four games of the year.  I'd also like to see if Brady decides to rub Goodell's face in it while taking questions from the media.

I don't know if its a prop bet available in Las Vegas, but I'm putting the over/under on split screen shots showing Goodell and Patriots personnel during the Super Bowl broadcast at 9 and a half--especially if it appears that New England is going to win.  Of course, if things go against Brady and Company, I fully expect to see a shot of Goodell cracking open the champagne and toasting with everyone in his luxury box.  Although, I'd much rather have to see him squirm like the worm that he is.