The Dalai Lama, I suppose, is a sports fan. That's really the only way to explain why he was kicking it at the New England Patriots' Gillette Stadium on Saturday.Either that or Robert Kraft has given up on installing a soul into Bill Belichick and just decided to convert him to Buddhism. But either way, there he was on Saturday, the big hitter himself, speaking to a big crowd in Boston while rocking out a bright red Pats baseball cap.
People rose from their seats, greeting the 73-year-old spiritual and political leader with a mix of reverent silence and cheers. "You rock, Lama!" someone shouted, the call rising from a corner of the stands.Having read a book by the Dalai in my Freedom of Religion class during my final semester of my second senior year, I can vouch for the guy: he's totally legit and is all about world peace; not a fraud whatsoever.
Waving cheerfully, the Dalai Lama mounted a stage and settled into an armchair facing a troupe of young dancers. With a flourish, he produced something cherry red - a Patriots hat, projected onto the end-zone video scoreboards - and waved it in the air. Thousands cheered as he tugged the cap onto his famously shaved head.
It's just too bad he's apparently a Patriots fan; I never had him pegged as a front-runner type.
