This short clip blew up social media last night, so I guess we have to talk about it, huh? Here's Gov. Chris Christie celebrating the Dallas Cowboys' playoff victory with team owner Jerry Jones at AT&T Stadium:
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First, let's review the excruciating awkwardness of this moment from a physical standpoint. The camera cuts to Christie just as he's offering up his hands for a double high-five, which an ebullient Jones appears to fleetingly notice before turning away. Jones leans into a hug from another celebrant, and which point Christie latches on to the embrace. Still smiling, Jones grabs Christie's forearm -- an apparent acceptance of Christie's bro-hug advances -- prompting the other elated gentleman to pull Christie in closer. By the neck. And, scene. Yeah. In fairness, who among us hasn't been left hanging on a high five at some point? We've just never suffered the indignity of the perceived snub and its uncomfortable aftermath being broadcast live to a national audience. The most natural human impulse after such a sequence of events is to quickly convince yourself that the slight wasn't intentional and to pretend as if it hadn't really occurred. Unfortunately for Christie, millions of Americans saw what went down in real time, to say nothing of the virtual avalanche of gifs that swept across social media within minutes.
Next, let's talk sports. Considering that Christie is approximately the
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Call me crazy, but maybe Christie is just a huge Cowboys fan doing what any sports fan in America would do in accepting a generous invite.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 5, 2015If the principal owner of any of my favorite teams phoned me up and invited me to take in a huge game from the comfort of his personal suite, I would immediately cancel any plan I'd made for that day (perhaps including my own wedding) and accept. This might make me a crazy person, but I'm comfortable with that. Christie's hung out with Jones at games
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"When the Cowboys are losing the last game of the year, the last three seasons not to make the playoffs, there's nobody getting on social media giving me a hard time about being a Cowboys fan. So we all know what this is about," Christie said Monday morning on WFAN's "Boomer & Carton" radio show...Asked about the failed high five, Christie insisted it wasn't a snub. "It was pandemonium in there," he said in the radio interview. "It is difficult to describe the level of intensity in the Jones' box during these games ... Believe me, I'm sitting in Jerry Jones' box, how do I feel dissed?"
The man makes a good point. Finally, politically, I think this plays as a mixed bag. On one hand, Christie's done himself no favors in the early Michigan primary sweepstakes, and bouncing around like a school boy with an infamous billionaire on national TV isn't necessarily the best "man of the people" look of all time. (Democrats' extreme affluence and insanely rich friends never seem to be too much of problem for them). On the other, running for president requires influential, deep-pocketed friends. It looks as if Christie has made one. Also, I'd wager that an authentic, unapologetic sports fan pol with terrible tastes is still far preferable to most people than an
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I'll leave you with this sly suggestion, via Allahpundit:
Next week, Scott Walker will go to the Packers' game, root for his state's team, & sit in the cheap seats & freeze with the common people.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 5, 2015Parting thought: Who knew that simple hugs could be such lightning rods?
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