FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With no shortage of storylines in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots, it's not surprising that one in particular had become a hot-button talking point on sports radio in the region: Will NFL commissioner Roger Goodell make his first appearance at Gillette Stadium since Deflategate?
Goodell attended the Atlanta Falcons victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday at the Georgia Dome. Then he traveled to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday for the Kansas City Chiefs-Steelers game.
Based on that itinerary, a trip to Gillette Stadium would have seemed to be his likely destination Sunday instead of the NFC title game back in Atlanta. But this isn't a business-as-usual situation in the wake of Deflategate and the NFL having its four-game suspension of quarterback Tom Brady ultimately upheld in a long court battle.
Goodell will attend the NFC Championship Game, according to a league spokesman on Tuesday morning.
Goodell's approval rating among Patriots fans, as one would imagine, is not particularly high. When he attended the team's win against the New York Giants on Nov. 15, 2015, at MetLife Stadium and was seen on the sideline speaking with CEO Robert Kraft and president Jonathan Kraft, it drew a negative reaction from some of the team's fans and Jonathan Kraft was asked about the situation in a pregame interview that day.
The Krafts have said they disagreed with Goodell’s decisions in Deflategate, but that they have business to take care of as it relates to the league and that continues to get done.
Said Jonathan Kraft in 2015: "Our feelings on [Deflategate] are known ... At the same time, there is other business going on that we're involved in. You separate those two things, and that's the way it's working right now."
Brady was asked about Goodell during his weekly appearance on sports radio WEEI on Monday and initially laughed when the topic was broached.
"He's the commissioner, so obviously whatever he wants to do, he can do. If he wants to come, that would be ... yeah, he could come," Brady said on the "Kirk and Callahan" program.
When asked if he would look forward to seeing Goodell, Brady again laughed before deflecting.
"Guys, I don't want to ... he can go wherever he wants to go. I got no ... Whoever is at the game is at the game," Brady answered, choosing his words carefully.
Two days earlier, Jonathan Kraft was asked about Goodell's potential trip to Gillette Stadium in his weekly pregame interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub. It was a hypothetical question at that point.
"I'll let you ask the league office about that," Kraft told hosts Marc Bertrand and Christopher Gasper. "I don't know how they pick where he goes. They don't call the teams and say 'hey.' That's not the way it works. The league office determines where he goes, and I don't know the factors that go into that."
Asked if owners could extend an invitation to Goodell, Kraft said, "Owners don't extend invitations. If you're opening a stadium or if there is something special [maybe that happens], but in the playoffs, I think the league determines based on a variety of factors where the commissioner is going to go. And I might be totally wrong on that, too, I don't know. ... I have no idea. You should probably ask Park Avenue and the guys there about how it gets determined."