Citing a “tireless resolve in the face of hardship and adversity,” President Obama congratulated Chicagoan Keith McConnell over the phone Monday after McConnell won $10,000 in a squares pool when the Packers beat the Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV Sunday night.
“Well Keith, I just want you to know your fellow Americans are very proud of you,” said Obama. “After a week of striving, after a week of what had to be grueling anticipating, after a historic outcome to a great game, hitting the top payout in your pool with the terrible numbers of one and five is no longer an unmet dream. Congratulations on behalf of the rest of the country.”
Since one and five aren’t choice numbers in a football pool, McConnell was upset earlier this week when he found out his numbers in the $200-a-square Super Bowl pool he joined at a Lakeview bar in Chicago.
“It was touch and go there for a bit,” said McConnell, who said he plans to mostly spend his winnings on past gambling debts. “But I dug deep and prayed for a successful Steelers two-point conversion and late Packers field goal and sure enough it happened. Pretty cool of the president to call me.”
