President Obama declares a Super Bowl favorite
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Top of The Ticket, Andrew Malcolm’s politics blog at The Times, has a great post if you’re a Steelers fan. But if you live for Cardinal red it might offer another reason not to vote for Barack Obama next time around.
The president was asked by a pool reporter whether he favored Pittsburgh or the Cardinals. Here’s what he had to say, according to the official transcript:
I have to say, you know, I wish the Cardinals the best. Kurt Warner is a great story and he’s closer to my age than anybody else on the field, but I am a longtime Steelers fan. Mr. Rooney, the owner, was just an extraordinary supporter during the course of the campaign. Franco Harris was campaigning for me in Pittsburgh.
Vice President Joe Biden interrupted to note that the Steelers’ coach had campaigned for the Democratic ticket. The president picked up on that thought:
Right, Coach Tomlin was a supporter. So I -- you know, I wish the best to the Cardinals. They’ve been long-suffering; it’s a great Cinderella story. But other than the Bears, the Steelers are probably the team that’s closest to my heart.
But, as Andrew notes, the consummate politician-turned-president might have missed a beat:
But what about Chicago, Obama’s latest hometown? The Cardinals originally played there. (Also, Racine and St. Louis, but that’s not the point.) In fact, the Cardinals were THE team of Chicago’s South Side, where Obama still lives and says he cheers for the White Sox. And the Cards often played the dreaded and detested Bears at Wrigley Field on the North Side.
-- Greg Johnson