FORT MYERS, Fla. -- President Obama makes no secret of the fact that he's a Chicago White Sox fan. But it seems he has a special place in his heart for David Ortiz, too.
During ESPN's telecast of Tuesday's exhibition game in Havana between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team, Obama mentioned Boston's resolve in the aftermath of the 2013 marathon bombings, and especially Ortiz's famous expletive-filled speech at Fenway Park, as "one of my most powerful memories and one of my proudest moments as president."
"When Ortiz went out and said, probably the only time that America didn't have a problem with somebody cursing on live TV, was when he talked about Boston and how strong it was and that it was not going to be intimidated," Obama said in an in-game ESPN interview. "And that is the kind of resilience and the kind of strength that we have to continually show in the face of these terrorists."
Red Sox fans need not be reminded of Ortiz's words. Five days after the attacks at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and on the occasion of the first game back at Fenway, Ortiz famously said, "This is our f---ing city, and nobody is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong."
The subject of terrorism was relevant again Tuesday when dozens were killed when bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and a downtown subway station.