Tom Brady

Charlie Baker cheering for Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers but urges fans to watch Super Bowl safely

"I don't see how anybody around here could possibly root for him to lose, because we got so much from him."

Tom Brady and Charlie Baker shake hands after a charity game in 2016. Photo by Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

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Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker feels the same way as nearly 90 percent of his constituents in a recent Boston.com poll: He wants Tom Brady to win the Super Bowl.

Asked about Brady’s upcoming appearance in Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baker — who has been governor since 2015 — said the choice was easy.

“My view on this one’s really simple,” Baker said. “The guy gave the people of this region a chance to go to the Super Bowl for 20 years, and nine times out of that 20 years, he did it, along with a heck of a lot of other people. As a sports fan, I’m incredibly grateful that I had a chance to live in this 20-year period, because I’ve lived in other 20-year periods around here where things didn’t quite work that way.

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“And so I am rooting for Tom Brady to win. I don’t see how anybody around here could possibly root for him to lose, because we got so much from him.”

With Brady at the helm during Baker’s term as governor, the Patriots won three Super Bowls before the longtime Patriots star departed for Tampa Bay.

The first Super Bowl came less than a month after Baker was inaugurated in 2015, when Malcolm Butler famously intercepted Russell Wilson at the goal line. The second might have been even more dramatic: In 2017, the Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28. Most recently, New England beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII.

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Baker was asked whether he sees Super Bowl parties as potential super-spreader events for COVID-19.

“I’m kind of the Grinch when it comes to almost any private event of any kind, and I get a lot of interesting incoming on that, you know, the guy who stole Thanksgiving, the guy who stole Christmas, the guy who stole New Year’s, the guy who stole every holiday you can think of, made everybody build chutes for candy for Halloween,” Baker said. “I actually built one myself; I thought it was pretty cool. But I would say the same thing I said before, which is, you know, long periods of time indoors in close quarters with shared food with people who aren’t of your immediate household is just risky behavior.

“I hope people watch the game. I hope they enjoy it. I hope Tampa Bay wins. But I hope people spend it in as safe a manner as they possibly can.”

http://bgmcreative.survey.fm/super-bowl-lv-what-are-your-plans

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