Good reason to watch Super Bowl LII sans Seahawks

Three years ago I posted a video to Instagram of a single Skittle stuck at the bottom of an escalator in Westlake Station.

It was so lonely and sad looking, just trapped there. It perfectly encapsulated the mood of the region after we all just witnessed the Seahawks lose the Super Bowl to the Patriots in the most frustrating fashion.

Since then, the Hawks haven’t redeemed themselves, twice eliminated during the playoffs. Then, this year, they didn’t even make it to the postseason. As a big fan of the Seahawks, but only a casual fan of the NFL in general, it’s harder and harder to gin up much excitement for the championship game.

Of course, I’ll still watch, I’m an American. I just find myself digging deeper and deeper to muster the motivation to tear myself away from the snack table.

While my ambivalence about the Super Bowl this year is borne out of indifference, for others, it’s borne out of anger.

Josh Gondelman is a writer for Last Week Tonight on HBO, one of my favorite stand-up comedians, and a die-hard Patriots fan. He tells a really heartwarming story about how his fandom was solidified while watching games with his beloved grandmother on her deathbed.

The problem for Gondelman is even though he’s a fan of the team, he takes serious issue with the politics of certain members of the Patriots organization. Quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick are both noted Donald Trump supporters and even team owner Robert Kraft has been a friend to Trump for years.

Gondelman figured out a solution for himself and others who feel conflicted about their fandom: #AGoodGame.

The #AGoodGame project allows people to donate to a cause they support for every point scored by the team they’re a fan of with differing political persuasions. Ideally, this allows fans to genuinely cheer on their team without the twinge of guilt.

I’m not a fan of the Patriots, in fact, I would’ve cheered for the Eagles regardless of politics after what New England did to the Seahawks in Super Bowl 49, but I still decided to participate in #AGoodGame.

I’m donating $1 to the Southern Poverty Law Center for every point the Patriots score.

There are several reasons: it’s a good cause, it’ll give me some motivation to actually watch the game, and doing the good deed might pull me out of my downward spiral after the Patriots inevitably win again.

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