Chris Christie loves the Dallas Cowboys. Not only is he not ashamed of it, he wants you to know it.
Tossing any risks of political offense aside, the potential Republican candidate for president doesn't bother to cheer for any of the teams that would make more sense for the governor of New Jersey.
No, he's an over-the-top, awkward-hugging, lucky-sweater-wearing and sports-talk-show-calling fan of the self-proclaimed "America's Team." And he might just be scoring political points by sticking with his 'Boys rather than sailing fairer winds by pretending to care about the New York Giants or the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I think, if anything, it shows he's authentic ? him standing by his team," said Matt Moore, the chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, who acknowledged owning a Cowboys jersey and helmet as a kid.
"True sports fans know what it's like to stand on couches and shout at the TV. We all get caught up in the moment," Moore said. "I don't know if it's anything more than being a super fan, but Gov. Christie's love of the Cowboys is definitely smart politics."
Christie's fanboy ways were again on display Sunday, when he was spotted gleefully celebrating the team's comeback win against the Detroit Lions in the NFL playoffs. He was hard to miss in owner Jerry Jones' box, wearing his sure-to-be-noticed orange good luck sweater, bouncing around and looking for a hug after the Cowboys' 24-20 wild-card victory.
It wasn't the first time Christie has shown up in Jones' box, nor the first time his display of affection for the team and its owner has drawn withering fire on social media and among radio talkers. Christie's high-five of Jones after the Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles last month was seen by some in South Jersey and elsewhere as rubbing it in.
There's also the question of where Christie chooses to sit ? namely, with Jones, the billionaire owner of the Cowboys, who supplied the governor with transportation via private jet and a ticket to the game in his suite. It's the third time Christie has seen the game on Jones' tab, according to a Christie spokesman.
That left The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol to predict that when Dallas travels to Green Bay for their next playoff game, against the Packers on Sunday, he'd miss Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is sure to sit in "the cheap seats & freeze with the common people" at Lambeau Field.
But the guy who fell in love with the Cowboys watching Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach does not care about your taunts.
His team, after all, is winning.
"I call it as I see it," Christie declared in mid-December on a South Jersey sports-talk station. "And I'm not going to be one of these politicians who changes their sports team loyalties just to score political points."
He added Monday morning: "Just because I'm governor of New Jersey doesn't mean that I change who I root for. That's it."
Didn't his antics risk votes in Michigan, home of the Lions and a state he'll likely need to carry to win the White House, should he win his party's nomination?
Perhaps, but Christie appears to be doubling down on his straight-talker image, making a calculated play that embracing his love of his team is a better way to win over votes than pandering to fans at home.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/nj-gov-chris-christie-fan-dallas-28021551
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