Barack Obama may be an avowed Chicago White Sox fan, but during the 2007 primaries he declared his love for the Cubs — the Iowa Cubs, that is.
Barack Obama may be an avowed Chicago White Sox fan, but during the 2007 primaries he declared his love for the Cubs.
The Iowa Cubs (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), that is.
The video below ends with the country’s next president declaring that the I-Cubs are his Cubs, as opposed to those imposters playing at Clark and Addison. (OK, we added the bit about the Chicago Cubs.) He declared his love for the I-Cubs during an election stop at Principal Park.
Now, to be fair, a lot of politicians declare their love for the Iowa Cubs and Iowa during election season; dropping by the ballparks the summer before the all-important primary season is just as important as proclaiming their love for ethanol or corn dogs at the State Fair.
But in 2007, Obama had the distinction of attracting the largest crowds to I-Cubs games.
From Scott Sailor of the Cubs:
Obama worked the crowd in his July 4 visit, then came up to the press box for a radio interview. During that time, video production team intern and Drake student Eric Michel thought it would be good to include Obama in "The I-Cubs Are My Cubs" video, which then was just under production. The idea was for ordinary fans to say "The I-Cubs are my Cubs" and compile a video of various folks saying that, emphasizing that the Iowa Cubs are really everyone’s team.
Obama agreed to do the video, but wouldn’t follow the "script" exactly. Instead, he said: "I may be a White Sox fan, but I’m rooting for the I-Cubs. Go I-Cubs." It was one take and done.
The video doesn’t feature any other politicians — Obama just happened to be here when the video was being assembled — although sportscaster Bob Costas has a starring role in the current version.
And here’s Obama proclaiming his I-Cubs love:
The full spot is below.