Mitt Romney black and white

With John McCain ready to lock up the Republican nomination after Super Tuesday, Mitt Romney is going to need an Eli Manning-style upset to remain in the fight for the GOP’s endorsement. However, Romney is a Patriots fan and a former Massachusetts governor. Plus the underdog role befits his rival McCain much better. In fact, it was only a matter of weeks ago that McCain’s campaign was floundering and broke, while Romeny has been one of the most consistent politicians in the lead pack of the GOP race. Mitt’s won multiple primaries, has money to burn and is a much more appealing personality than McCain. So why is Romney about to crash like a pretty-boy quarterback whose model/actress girlfriend showed up to the game? The power of the sports-politics connection.

While he was en route to a whistle stop last week, Romney was asked about his favorite pro football team’s quarterback, Tom Brady. Said Romney (joking at the time) “I actually sent him a couple of plays. I wish he’d send me a couple of plays.” But Romney might be thinking again after seeing Brady pile-driven into the Arizona turf over and over this past weekend.

The worlds of sports and politics might not always run parallel exactly, but they are starting to do so more and more these days. Mitt, like his Patriots, might be taken down by an underdog. Rudy Giuliani (now out of the race but one of John McCain’s biggest promoters), like his favorite football team, the Giants, might see his horse come from behind to win the big one after all.