He weathered the storm after hugging Obama after a storm.

He shrugged off Bridgegate and went marching on down the road.

Heck, I even forgave him after an even more unsavory hug when he revealed that he supported the Cowboys instead of the New Jersey Jets.

But there comes a time, my friends, when the Big Man finally goes one bridge too far. How can anyone with the nerve to call themselves a loyal American spend Superbowl Sunday – one of the high holidays of the year – in Europe watching… SOCCER?

An unabashed fan of the Dallas Cowboys, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spent Super Bowl Sunday on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, watching football of another sort.

The likely Republican presidential contender, who recently launched a political action committee that serves as an early campaign operation, is visiting the United Kingdom on a three-day trade mission that conveniently doubles as a chance to shore up his foreign policy experience and build relationships with a key American ally.

Christie joined nearly 60,000 soccer fans as Arsenal thumped Aston Villa 5-0, on the eve of his business. He was not in a mood to talk politics…

Asked about the effect of Romney’s decision to skip the race, he said: “I just arrived here a few hours ago. I’m not processing a lot at the moment. I’ve processed some soccer. That was about it. Or football as they call it.”

No, Governor, it’s not football. It’s soccer. Or kickball if you prefer. You needn’t pay them the compliment of calling it football. And here I must wash my hands of you.

Christie was wrangling some media time to shore up his foreign policy credentials while taking in the sights and sounds of Britain. It’s a fairly easy gig for any aspiring presidential candidates, since our “special relationship” ensures that they’ll receive a good reception (on the off chance they win the election) and there isn’t much that would be considered controversial about visiting one our strongest allies. Christie is getting a personal reception with David Cameron at 10 Downing Street and will also be welcomed at Cambridge.

While there is ostensibly a reason for the Governor of New Jersey to make that particular stop and talk about the future of the pharmaceutical industry in his home state, this is a lot more flash than substance. A trip like this seeks to address one of the few shortfalls that governors face when running for the presidency, that being in the area of foreign policy experience. We’ve seen some rather embarrassing examples in the past, where governors have tried to tout their work with the National Guard as ranking on par with being Commander in Chief. The Guard is vitally important, but the guv’s direct role in their operations – particularly absent any involvement in directing foreign wars – is not really a substitute. Similarly, governors can influence trade deals which affect businesses in their states, so they pursue trips such as this, but it is similarly a bit pale in comparison to treaty negotiations and trade deals at the federal level.

Still, it’s the sort of work they have to put in so they at least have something on their resume as they launch a presidential campaign. But… soccer? Sorry, Governor Christie. You just drew a yellow card. You should be forced to watch every Jets home game next year as penance.