Nick Jonas flew from New York to Green Bay, Wis. and saw the Packers beat the Cowboys at Lambeau Field in the NFL Playoffs. You could say the singer had two horses in the race, and was destined to walk out feeling like a winner.
“Technically I am a Giants fan,” explained Jonas on “Ralphie Tonight.” The 22 year-old was raised in Wyckoff, N.J. “The way it works is that when the Giants are out, which they are this year because they were not that great unfortunately, I fall back to the Cowboys.”
While Jonas admitted to rooting for divisional opponents and noted that he receives a lot of grief over it, his allegiances make sense when you consider his family’s history. The youngest of the “Jonas Brothers” (but not the youngest of his four brothers) was born in Dallas. The family moved back to the area a couple of years ago.
But how do the Packers factor in to this?
“I had the unique opportunity to play in a golf tournament, and I was paired with Aaron Rodgers,” he continued. “This was back in April, and we became friends. So, I gotta support my friend as well.”
Jonas is not the first celebrity to root for the Packers because of Rodgers. “The Office” actor Brian Baumgartner met Rodgers at the same event in 2013 and golfed with the singer and quarterback this year. Like Jonas, Baumgartner also backs the “Green and Yellow.”
Granted, Jonas’ football interests seem a bit more complicated than those of Governor Chris Christie, but then again, the artist doesn’t have constituents in one particular area of the country to worry about. Still, Jonas doesn’t think that a person’s favorite football team should affect people’s opinions of said person.
“Here’s the deal: The Cowboys are ‘America’s Team,’” he stated very matter-of-factly in his defense of the Governor, who like Jonas also roots for Dallas and is friends with owner Jerry Jones. “He’s allowed to like whoever he wants. It really doesn’t matter.”
There was another point that Jonas made sure to drive home. It came up when I mentioned that his girlfriend, former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo, is from Rhode Island and could sway his favoritism towards New England.
“Let me just make one thing clear,” Jonas said as my question trailed off. “I don’t have to be a Patriots fan.”
Culpo has played a “pageant coach” of sorts to her boyfriend, teaching him about the different aspects of the competition. Jonas has seen a lot of it for himself too: he performed with his brothers at Miss Teen USA and co-hosted Miss USA. The couple will travel to Florida later this month for Miss Universe; Jonas jokes that he is “completing the circuit.” He will perform a medley of songs, including the smash hit “Jealous,” during the Evening Gown portion of the televised event.
Jonas also performed at the Kennedy Awards, is set to star in a new James Franco film, will release another single from his self-titled album, and hits the road with Iggy Azalea later this year. Plus he has a show on DirecTV that was renewed and a headlining tour could materialize in about nine months. Jonas’ entire year is already planned out, in part because he has a hard time saying “no.”
“When you really want to go after it, you can’t say no,” he told me. “For the first year, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes.”
It’s easier said than done and certainly for Jonas, not as easy as picking what football team to cheer on.
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