So What's The Deal With Chris Christie And The Cowboys?

Governor and underripe tomato Chris Christie was hugging and bouncing and groping in the owner's box throughout Dallas's thrilling win on Sunday. And because he is still technically in charge of the great state of New Jersey, some folks want to know exactly how he got there, and how much public money was involved.

"Governor Christie attended the game last night as a guest of Jerry Jones, who provided both the ticket and transportation at no expense to New Jersey taxpayers," Roberts said.

Christie, his wife and their four children attended the game.

Jones paid for Christie and his family to attend the games, including footing the bill for the private jet that shuttled the Christies to Sunday night's game, Roberts said.

State ethics rules ban the acceptance of any gifts related to an officeholder's "official duties," and as the International Business Times points out, New Jersey gave the NFL some pretty cushy subsidies for last year's Super Bowl. Christie's spokesman denied that Jones flew Christie in because he's the governor, but rather because they're close, personal friends. According to ethics rules, that's totally OK.

That bit about "no expense to taxpayers" also isn't so simple. The state covers Christie's support and security detail, so if his trip required more hours than usual, that's some more cash. Then there are the questions of how Christie, who's previously been criticized for overusing a helicopter, got to the airport: a pro-Democratic PAC is seeking records on the use of state-owned vehicles and flight records for Christie's police helicopter.

But, if you knew how any politician was spending your money, you'd probably vomit with rage. No, the truly egregious question is why Christie, who was born and raised in North Jersey, could possibly be a Cowboys fan in the first place.

New York mag has you covered, delving into the roots of Christie's Big Four fandoms:

"I was a big fan when I was your age," he told a group of students last year. "I was a big fan of Roger Staubach, who was the quarterback for the Cowboys back then. The Giants and the Jets pretty much stunk when I was a kid and my father was a Giants fan. I used to remember watching him when I was eight, nine years old and every Sunday he would watch the Giants and yell at the TV set. I used to think to myself, 'Why would I want to root for a team that makes you angry?'" In other words, young Chris Christie was a total front-runner.

"Because the Cowboys were good in the 70s" is precisely why the team has fans all over the country; that's not unique to the governor. (Christie, an inveterate bandwagoner, also doesn't root for New Jersey's other homegrown teams, the Devils and the Nets, both because they weren't nearly as good as their cross-Hudson rivals). But the Cowboys were who he chose, if even for a frustrating reason, and you have to respect his willingness to stick with that fandom even when it's not politically judicious.

Christie's real crime, then, was pretending to be a Giants fan at their Super Bowl rally. Pandering punk.