I won’t explore the topic of how one roots for a team whose Hall of Fame quarterback and coach are two of the sleaziest characters ever to darken the game of football, and my apologies to any readers whom I’ve offended.
The point of this column is neither to praise nor bury the New England Patriots (though I am hoping the latter is what the Atlanta Falcons do in today’s big game). Rather, my purpose is to examine a conundrum. To wit, Massachusetts is a very blue state. It stands to reason that many of its inhabitants, especially in Boston and its environs, voted for Hillary Clinton in the last general election. It also seems logical that a subset within that faction despise Donald Trump, as so many in the nation do. (As to precisely how many that is, consider that more than 12,000 tweets since the inauguration have called for Trump’s assassination, as compared with a tad more than a dozen that were equally seditious against Barack Obama.)
So considering that Tom Brady is a Trump supporter and team owner Robert Kraft (another delightful fellow) is good pals with Trump, how do “Pats” fans square that circle? Here is comedian Josh Gondelman’s answer:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Because of Tom Brady's garbage politics, I'm donating $100 for every Patriots TD and $50 for every FG to the @NAACP_LDF. #AGoodGame
— Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) February 3, 2017
Lady Gaga, who will be performing the halftime show, has already hinted that she may take a swipe at the president. Oddsmakers are even making book on it, according to The Wall Street Journal:
Then of course there’s always this option (via Tammy Bruce).