AMERICAN

Former President George W. Bush receives blinged out chain at SMU basketball game

Portrait of Jon Hoefling Jon Hoefling
USA TODAY

Former United States President George W. Bush was seen wearing a gold mustang chain at today's SMU Mustangs men's basketball game against the Memphis Tigers.

Yes, you read that, right? Incredible drip isn't restricted to celebrities and Kirk Cousins, clearly. Even politicians can drown in the drip. The gold chain, which was a student section giveaway for this game, just happened to land on the 43rd President, who grew up in Texas. The crowd loved it.

Look how ecstatic everyone in the crowd is. Even one of the commentators can't hold their grin back. Despite how you feel about his politics, it's undeniably funny to see a former President wear jewelry meant for someone in their twenties.

Other reactions to the chain

Is George W. Bush an SMU fan?

Despite the two Texas cities where Bush grew up, Midland and Houston, being several hours away from the SMU campus in Dallas, Bush is a huge SMU fan. He's been seen at several SMU basketball games throughout the years and has even been seen wearing some of the school's merchandise at those games.

Bush became an SMU fan after his second term in office ended. He and his wife, Laura, moved to Dallas soon after, in 2009. Bush may be an SMU fan, but maybe not as big as his father was for Texas A&M.

George H.W. Bush established his presidential library at Texas A&M in College Station. In 2013, he even told USA Today that he and his wife were "Aggies to the core." In all fairness though, the younger Bush's presidential library is located on SMU Boulevard in Dallas.

Both Bush and Bush Sr. were Yale graduates but decided they'd rather root for their home teams in Texas above their alma maters apparently.

George W. Bush has a way with sports chains

Surprisingly, yes. He has worn a team's chain before, and it's the last team you would expect.

In 2022, Bush was seen wearing the Baltimore Orioles' home run chain prior to MLB's Little League Classic. The chain was given to Bush by Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins.

Bush is no stranger to being blinged out. But the Orioles doesn't seem to make much sense. Sure, he was close to Baltimore when he was president, but the Orioles aren't the closest team to the White House. That would be the Washington Nationals. Secondly, this happened 14 years after he left office.

Regardless, Bush was a pleasant sight for those in attendance at the SMU game. The chain only made his presence even grander.

SMU would also go on to win their game against Memphis, 106-79. The Mustangs' 10-3 conference record puts them in a tie for third place in the AAC with Florida Atlantic University. The Mustangs next game is set for Thursday, Feb. 22 against Florida Atlantic. Unfortunately, the game will be played at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Florida, so Bush likely won't be in attendance.

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