Obama was concerned Super Bowl blackout could be security issue

President Obama's immediate reaction to the Super Bowl blackout was concern there could be a security issue, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday.

“The initial response that we all had was 'I hope everyone’s OK, it’s not a security issue,'" Carney told reporters abroad Air Force One. "And then once that became clear, it was just impatience to get the game going again.”

Sunday night's game was halted for more than half an hour when sections of the Superdome lost power, plunging areas of the 73,000-seat building into darkness. Officials have not yet explained why the power outage occurred, although New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has pledged an investigation and said foul play is not suspected.

Aside from the delay, it appears that President Obama enjoyed the game — the most-watched television event in American history.

“It was a very close, good game, didn’t look like it was going to be that close,” Carney said. “It had lots of novel aspects to it, including the 108-yard kickoff return and the power outage. He said he enjoyed it, said it was a good game.”

Carney added that the president was "very happy" for Baltimore, which narrowly prevailed over San Francisco in the contest.

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