Rob Lowe to cap NFL hat saga with a new Super Bowl lid

It all started with a “swag bag.”

Rob Lowe was presented a gift package by the NFL before the NFC Championship Game at Levi Stadium on Jan. 19. Lowe is a TV and film star, of course, and co-star of the new “9-1-1-: Lone Star” drama on Fox, the network that also broadcast the 49ers-Packers NFC title game. The show premiered on the network just after the 49ers’ 37-20 victory.

Lowe, who headlines Planet Hollywood’s Criss Angel Theater on Feb 15, was at the stadium primarily to promote his show on national TV. He was shown during the show wearing a non-committal, NFL-branded baseball cap in a sea of 49ers caps (and a smaller sea, or puddles, of Packer hats).

A Twitter barrage ensued as a Tweet of Lowe’s hat went viral. Barstool Sports led the cacophony with, “Some people cheer for a team. Rob Lowe cheers for the Shield.”

Lowe re-tweeted with, “I didn’t expect my hat to be the most interesting part of this game!” He also posted his own screen grab, commenting, “I LITERALLY love football! And teams. Every one of them! They are all wonderful! Go teams!”- Chris Traeger.”

Traeger is Lowe’s sunny, eternally optimistic and physically fit character from “Parks & Recreation.”

Lowe did not walk into Levi Stadium wearing the NFL cap.

“They give me this swag bag of hats, and all of the hats were exactly the same,” Lowe said in a phone chat this week. “There wasn’t a Niners hat, there wasn’t a Green Bay hat, there was THAT hat. And I though it was dope! This hat was badass! I’d never seen this hat before.

“I said, ‘I’m down with this hat. It’s bipartisan. You can’t lose.’”

But the social media community seized on the shots of Lowe wearing the NFL corporate cap.

“The next thing I know, I am the meme of all memes,” said Lowe, who is on the record as a big Indianapolis Colts fan. “This is why I love the Internet. People are so hilarious about it. It made my night.”

Lowe says he is working on a “follow-up hat” for Sunday’s Super Bowl LIV in Miami. What’s this about?

“I can’t share it, it will ruin it,” Lowe said. “I’m trying to put it together. If it comes out nicely, I’ll have a nice homage.”

Accurate to say this hat will also be bipartisan?

“Possibly,” Lowe said, laughing. “That’s all I’m saying.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.