Maine man says he chanted 'Free Tom Brady' to Roger Goodell at supermarket

Now we have a good idea why the NFL sought extra security for league commissioner Roger Goodell at his Maine residence last month.

A radio sales director, Mike Marcello, relayed the story to WHOM-FM radio (h/t NECN.com) of walking into a Scarborough, Maine grocery store to buy some green peppers and trash bags (can’t have one without the other). And who did he see but Goodell and his wife, who may or may not have been there for the lobster bisque.

(Thirty-second timeout here: Goodell does his own shopping? Perhaps it was date night. Hmm. OK, onward …)

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As his Tom Brady-loving blood boiled, the New England Patriots fan Marcello faced the fight-or–flight response. He chose a verbal version of the former.

There was, naturally, to invoke the battle-cry refrain of an entire region: He chanted, “Free Tom Brady.”

What Goodell did next, or whether Marcello had anyone else join in (he admits to a bit of hyperbole on this front), is a matter of conjecture. Marcello said Goodell and his wife booked it out of the store, met with more Brady chants in the parking lot, and then admits that’s not really the way it went down.

But the story of Marcello’s weekend grocery exploits did somehow get back to his coworkers, and he was greeted the following Monday at work with a hero’s welcome.

It underscores the idea that Goodell, right now, is living in the lion’s den, just a few miles outside Portland, Maine and a little over a two-hour drive to Gillette Stadium. He might not be running to the store for a gallon of milk anytime soon.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm