President Barack Obama took in the Wizards-Bulls game Friday night in the nation’s capital. It was pretty awesome to see him sitting courtside, drinking a beer, and mingling with the fans. It’s cool that he would come to a game and enjoy it just like the rest of us would (albeit with a better view). As a die-hard basketball fan, I am ecstatic that our President is such a huge fan of the game. I know the sport’s popularity has dwindled quite a bit, for a variety of reasons, since Michael Jordan retired and we’ve been trying to figure out who will fill his shoes and bring the sport back to the masses. But maybe the answer won’t be a player on the court. Perhaps it’ll be a fan…The First Fan actually. Maybe it will be the President that makes basketball reach the status it enjoyed during the Jordan Years. His passion for the game has been well-publicized and his desire to replace the White House bowling alley with an indoor basketball court made headline news. With many casual fans leaving the game along with His Airness, possibly turned off by the new hip-hop regime that took over the league, can it be the leader of the free world who will revive basketball? It might be a little far-fetched but I’m glad he’s on our side. So next time you’re watching an NBA (or college) game, you can sit back knowing that maybe the President is doing the same.
