Why do fans boo Roger Goodell at the NFL Draft?

NFL fans are accustomed to how the NFL Draft starts every year. Commissioner Roger Goodell takes the stage at the host city, announces that the team holding the No. 1 pick is now on the clock, and we're off and running. But there's one very key component in that when it comes to Goodell.

He gets booed. And he gets booed mercilessly by every fan in attendance at the draft. It's an ear-ringing level of volume with how many boos rain down on Goodell when he takes the stage. That includes the first time he comes out to start the draft, and it continues still whenever he comes back out to announce picks.

Normally, you would only think that boos of that magnitude would be sung for the Dallas Cowboys playing in Philadelphia or a Green Bay Packers star showing up anywhere in the Twin Cities. So that begs the question: Why do NFL fans boo Roger Goodell at the draft? We have an idea.

Why do fans boo Roger Goodell?

Roger Goodell gets booed simply because he's the NFL Commissioner. Whether that's fair or not, it's the truth. Sports fans are always looking for a scapegoat to blame for things that go wrong or that they don't like. So with rule changes, poor officiating, strange decisions for scheduling, and so on, it's easiest to point the finger at Goodell as the reason behind those problems.

In this case, it's the simplest but also the most factual explanation for Goodell. He took over in this job back in 2006 and has been greeted with boos by fans at the NFL Draft (and, frankly, some other appearances as well) ever since. He is the head decision-maker for the league, so that means fans pour out all the blame that they have in their hearts at him in the form of a chorus of boos. And let's also not forget the hive-mind factor where fans hear the first boos, then just simply join in.

The good news for all of this, though, is that Goodell has learned to take this even more in stride over the years. He eggs on the crowd and wants more of the boos, knowing it's all part of the job and part of the act. And for him being a great sport about it, we boo him heartily.