FOXBORO, MA – SEPTEMBER 07: Fans hold towels depicting NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wearing a clown nose prior to the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 7, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
By Sean Keeley on

The ongoing disdain between Roger Goodell and New England Patriots fans came to a head when the NFL commissioner showed up at Gillette Stadium to kick off the 2017 NFL season during the Patriots-Chiefs game a couple weeks back. Goodell was greeted by a sea of blue towels that depicted him as a clown, courtesy of Barstool Sports, who reportedly handed out 70,000 of them before the game. The taunt was in response to Tom Brady’s four-game suspension last season over Deflategate and the way Goodell seemingly singled out the Patriots for punishment.

While #OperationClownFace was a success in that the NBC camera crew couldn’t help but show the towels during the telecast, they weren’t featured by the NFL-friendly network.

After the game, fans took their towels home to become keepsakes and conversation starters. Except for at least one towel-owner, who apparently got Brady to sign one of them. The autographed towel was auctioned off for $6,500 at the Matt Light’s Celebrity Shoot-Out. SI.com confirmed with the Light Foundation confirmed that the towel was indeed sold.

If Brady did, in fact, sign the towel, it’s the latest salvo in the never-ending cold war between the star quarterback and the commish. With the suspension served and (presumably) no infractions for Goodell to punish him for, it seems like the two will be left to snipe at one another in various ways so long as they’re both associated with the league.

The only missed opportunity here was that no one told Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy the towel was being auctioned. He wrote afterward that “I would have gladly paid 10k to get my towel back. Because this would legit be the best memorabilia piece I could ever own.”

[Sports Illustrated]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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