February 5, 2010: The Super Bowl has captured the American cultural zeitgeist for decades. And our commanders-in-chief haven’t been exempt. With the “big game” coming up on Sunday, TPM looks back at our finest Presidential moments in football.
1912: President Dwight D. Eisenhower kicks a football at West Point.
army.gov
10-year-old John F. Kennedy takes a photo for the Dexter school football team in Brookline, MA.
Newscom/Zumawire
President Lyndon B. Johnson, with Texas football coaching legend Darrell Royal.
University of Texas
Dec. 6, 1969: President Nixon, with members of the championship University of Texas football team after they defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks in an epic game known as “The Big Shootout.”
University of Texas
1933: President Gerald Ford on the practice field at the University of Michigan, where he was a fierce lineman.
Newscom/ABAPhotos
January 31, 1999: NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue gives President Jimmy Carter a tour before Super Bowl XXXIII.
Newscom/KRTPhotos
1929: Before his movie career, President Reagan plays for the Eureka College football team.
Newscom/Three Trees Photos
A still from the film Knute Rockne-All American (1940) with future President Ronald Reagan leaping for a kick.
Newscom/Three Tree Photos
December 31, 2009: President George H. W. Bush and his grandson, Pierce Bush, walk the field before the Texas Bowl in Houston.
Newscom/IconPhotos
November 20, 2001: Shortly after leaving office, President Bill Clinton receives an autographed football and team jersey from the Harvard football captain.
Newscom/Zumawire
1964: At the Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, President George W. Bush leads the squad as head cheerleader.
Newscom/UPI
March 25, 2009: President Obama keeps a football at the ready during a Domestic Policy Council meeting at the Oval Office.
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June 24, 2009: Obama escapes the Oval Office for a game of catch.
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