President Obama predicts Bears to win NFC championship

Published: Jan 20, 2011 at 07:36 AM

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is predicting that his hometown Chicago Bears will defeat their rivals, the Green Bay Packers, 20-17 in Sunday's NFC Championship Game.

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But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday that Obama won't hold a grudge against the state of Wisconsin should the Packers pull off a win. Gibbs said Obama will travel to Manitowoc, Wis., on Wednesday, regardless of the outcome.

Obama set off speculation this week that he would attend the Super Bowl if the Bears make it. After being asked about his plans for the big game, Obama said with a laugh: "Oh, if the Bears are in the Super Bowl, we're going."

Gibbs tried to back away from that, saying that as a superstitious fan, it was too soon to be making Super Bowl plans.

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