Sen. Roberts: I run the 40-yard dash in 40 seconds

Picture this: Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts (R), all laced up in running shoes and track gear, hauling it down a football field as fast as he can. 

That was the scene the 75-year-old lawmaker painted for panelists at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing held in Michigan on Wednesday. 

“My staff and I were testing my time in the 40. I still have some eligibility allowed for Kansas State, and I got it down to 40 seconds this morning.” 

Good one, senator.

But comedy wasn’t the only thing Roberts brought for the Michigan State University crowd. 

After opening the hearing with a few rounds of the MSU Spartans’ battle cry, “Go Green!” Roberts kept up the football jokes, and the crowd loved it.

“As I indicated, I don’t think that Nebraska will walk onto your field into 2012,” he said, referring to the newest members of the Big 10 conference and their chances of making postseason bowl games.

“But when they do, rest assured, everybody in Kansas will be shouting, ‘Go Green!’ as well.” The rivalry between Kansas State and Nebraska is well-documented, and Roberts, a K State alumnus, has good reason to wish Nebraska a tough season in its new conference. 

To help this along, the senator offered up one of the most valuable documents in college football. 

“Part of my remarks here in the appendix, I’m not going to read to you, it’s the playbook of the University of Nebraska,” he quipped, to great laughter from the audience. 

“Just like everything else, it’s top secret, so I’m making it public.”

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