At Super Bowl LI 2½ months ago, New England fans got to see NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hand the Lombardi Trophy to owner Robert Kraft of the Super Bowl-champion Patriots.
On Sept. 7, there’s more grand entertainment because they’ll see the commissioner at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. As is traditionally the case, the defending Super Bowl champions open the season at home. And this year, the Thursday night opener has the Patriots against the defending AFC West-champion Kansas City Chiefs in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff (Central time) on NBC.
Rest assured, most Patriots fans are still sore over Goodell’s “Deflate-gate” decision, which resulted in a four-game suspension for star quarterback Tom Brady to start the 2016 season.