Trump's sports kick is about politics, but fans have a say

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is on a sports kick, taking in a baseball game, a mixed martial arts tournament and a college football game and getting in some chilly rounds of golf. Even his re-election campaign made the most of sporting events by airing a pricey television ad during the World Series.

Trump attended Game 5 of the series and days later hosted the victorious Washington Nationals at the White House. He watched the Ultimate Fighting Championship at Madison Square Garden in New York. On Saturday, he heads south to watch the two highest-ranked college football teams — Louisiana State University and the University of Alabama — face off in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. And next month, Trump might flip a coin again at the Army-Navy game, continuing a presidential tradition dating to President Theodore Roosevelt.

Presidents have long used sporting events to woo support, but they also are a venue for fans to express their own political leanings.

Both loud boos and cheers could be heard as Trump took his seat ahead of the recent pay-per-view Ultimate Fighting Championship match in New York. That greeting was warmer than the reception Trump received at the World Series, when he was roundly booed and became the target of a "Lock him up!" chant.

He's headed to friendlier southern turf this weekend.

"I love Alabama," Trump said on Friday. "I'm going to go watch a very good football game, which is tomorrow with LSU, and it's going to be great"

Still, even in Alabama, where he won 63%

of the vote in 2016, the president generated some controversy. Alabama's student government association has warned students against being disruptive, but says their First Amendment rights will not being muzzled.

"Regardless of your political views, that's pretty cool, having the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/college/article/Trump-s-sports-kick-is-about-politics-but-fans-14822090.php