Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been riding his record as Massachusetts governor in his White House bid this year. He took that tactic one step further Monday night, as he and President Barack Obama chimed in on Monday Night Football to talk up their sports allegiances.
Romney said that, while he may have grown up a Detroit sports fan, his decades as a Massachusetts resident made him change allegiances — and helped him preside over one of the state’s most fruitful sports stretches.
“I take personal, full responsibility for [the Patriots’] two Super Bowl wins, as well as the Red Sox winning the World Series,” Romney joked during an interview on Monday Night Football, according to ESPN.com. “Hey, look, as governor, you get blamed for everything that goes wrong. You might as well get the credit for what goes right.”
While Romney’s best known sports connection is his leading the 2002 Winter Olympics, he wasn’t shy about promoting New England teams — although Obama did have a more solid record to point at when it came to seeing real change in sports.
“Promises made, promises kept,” Obama said, referring to his calling for a college football playoff when he campaigned for president four years ago. “This was something I said needed to get done, and this is the kind of change you can believe in. But, I’d like to see [the playoff] actually go to eight [teams].”
Obama talked up his hometown Chicago Bears and their defense, led by Charles Tillman, who forced four fumbles on Sunday.
He also drew philosophical comparisons to how politicians and athletes are alike. But the high point of the night was definitely the former Boston politician who managed to make it through complimenting the local teams without calling anyone “Manny Ortez” or saying “Varitek splitting the uprights.” Even if he did take credit for New England’s biggest moments of glory.
Photo via Facebook/Mitt Romney
