ON THE BALL: Baltimore Raven quarterback Joe Flacco proves his MVP cred on Letterman last night. (Jeffrey Neira/CBS)
Super Bowl hero Joe Flacco showed up on the “Late Show with David Letterman” — and watched his language.
A day after the Baltimore Raven quarterback exuberantly proclaimed his Super Bowl XLVII victory was “f–king awesome!” he dodged questions from the CBS funnyman like a pro.
Letterman asked Flacco about his teammate Ray Lewis’ alleged use of the supposed performance-enhancing “deer-hoof spray or something, what is it?”
Flacco laughed off the question: “You have to ask him about that one, man!”
But Flacco, the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player, had plenty of kind words for Lewis, who is retiring.
“He’s been doing it for 17 years, so come Sunday, he has something special and [has been a] great teammate throughout the week.”
Letterman also asked if Lewis, a devout Christian, was the “spiritual leader” of the team.
Flacco responded, “Ah, yeah, I mean, He’s the leader in many ways . . .. that definitely being one of them.”
The QB also talked about the possibility of a new contract that could be worth more than $20 million a year.
“Well, that was actually earlier in the year when I wasn’t signing what they wanted me to sign.[Team owner Steve Bisciotti] said, ‘Listen, when the time comes, I mean, you come and beat on my desk,’ and I said, ‘All right, I’ll take you up on that,’ and I think the time has come,” Flacco said.
Flacco’s interview was G-rated, but the Parents Television Council, which beat the drum over Janet Jackson’s 2004 nipple-baring Super Bowl incident, called on the FCC to impose penalties on CBS after his expletive aired live Sunday night.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, long the big butt of Letterman fat jokes, also appeared on the show — and brought doughnuts for the occasion.
“I love you, Dave,” Christie said before taking a bite, explaining that he didn’t know the show was going to run so long.
Asked if he ever thought about going on a diet, Christie said he had, but then proclaimed, “I’m basically the healthiest fat guy you’ve ever seen in your life!”
Christie went on to recite some of his favorite Letterman jokes over the years, including a recent one from his birthday: “Chris Christie just blew out 50 candles on his birthday cake and wished for another birthday cake.”