He’s bucking the Broncos.
Mayor de Blasio rescinded his neutrality as host of Super Bowl XLVIII early Friday by siding with the big game’s underdog – the Seattle Seahawks.
“I always favor the underdog,” he told the hosts of HOT 97 FM radio. “I love what Seattle does – I love what they do,” added the mayor. “So I respect Denver, I respect Peyton [Manning], but I like Seattle.”
It certainly isn’t lost on Hizzoner – a lifelong New England Patriots fan – that the Broncos were the team to dash the Patriots’ hopes of earning a trip to Sunday’s Super Bowl in East Rutherford, NJ.
The Broncos beat the Pats 26-16 earlier this month.
The mayor said he’s gotten great feedback on the city’s role as host – which includes a slew of outdoor activities on a stretch of Broadway running through Times Square, known as Super Bowl Boulevard.
“I was with a lot of the NFL team owners last night, they could not be more happy with what New York city has done,” de Blasio said. “I’ll even give a compliment to New Jersey,” he added with a chuckle, “they’ve done a great job too.”
The mayor gave kudos to the NFL for agreeing to hold the Super Bowl for the first time in an outdoor stadium in a cold-weather climate.
“This is a big deal. The NFL took a chance,” he said. “And this to me – I’m a football fan – I think football’s supposed to be played in an outdoor stadium.”
On Thursday, de Blasio said he had passed up on the chance to purchase tickets to the game, and that instead he’ll watch the game on TV with his 16-year-old son, Dante.
They haven’t picked a spot yet, but it’s likely to be in his home borough of Brooklyn.
When asked on the radio show to assign himself a grade for his first 30 days in office, de Blasio declined.
“I don’t do the number grades,” he said.
But he added that he’s happy about his team and the momentum they’ve gotten on issues like revising stop and frisk, promoting full-day pre-kindergarten and after-school programs, and expanding paid sick leave.
“I’m satisfied at the strong start, but I know we’ve got a lot more to do,” he said.