NFLPoliticsBy Sean Keeley on

“Marco Rubio” and “likable” aren’t two things that usually go together on the internet, but the junior United States Senator for Florida did his best Friday to actually seem like a guy you hang out with. In theory.

Randomly, Rubio tweeted out a video of himself making his Super Bowl picks on June 1 (as you do). Apparently realizing that the only reason the Miami Dolphins haven’t gone to the Super Bowl since he’s been Senator, Rubio attempted the daring reverse jinx by picking a different team to represent the AFC. And oh boy, what a team he picked…

Rubio’s pick for the upcoming Super Bowl is the New Orleans Saints vs. the Cleveland Browns. Yes, the same Browns who just went 0-16 and only marginally improved in the recent NFL Draft. The same Browns who are, in fact, Those Browns, the worst pro franchise in the four major U.S. sports.

Rubio’s strategy is that, by picking someone other than the Dolphins, he’s giving them the karma they need to surprise everyone and make it to the big game for the first time since 1984. The really weird part is that crazier things have happened. Sure, Miami is not going to be a favorite on anyone’s board. However, they went 10-6 two seasons ago. Plus, there’s always at least one NFL team that goes from losing record to surprise playoff run every season. Perhaps Rubio senses this is possible and wants to get out of the way to ensure that it happens.

Of course, there’s another way to look at this. That Rubio has just aligned himself with the Cleveland Browns in a self-own that he’s way too out-of-touch to realize. But that doesn’t sound like the Marco we know, does it?

Regardless of how unlikely it is that the Cleveland Browns will go to the Super Bowl this season, it’s still an improvement from two years ago when Rubio picked the Miami Dolphins to win the Super Bowl in an ad that ran during the NFL Playoffs…which the Miami Dolphins were not a part of.

[Marco Rubio]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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