Jewish Super Bowl Owners Clash Over Big Game — and Bagels
Image by Forward Montage
By Jeffrey Boxer February 1, 2017
It took Robert Kraft a few seconds to remember the name of his favorite bagel.
“What do you call it, the brown bagel,” the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots said during a recent phone interview, shrugging off suggestions of dark rye or pumpernickel.
His favorite bagel is whole wheat. But that only tells half the story.
“You’ve gotta scoop it!” Kraft exclaimed during what was easily his most animated moment of our wide-ranging conversation. “You toast it and then scoop out the dough, and you fill it with the lox spread, squeeze some lemon, and [add] a few capers.”
Kraft’s Patriots will play the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 5. Both teams have Jewish owners (the first time this has happened since 2012), and both have strong opinions when it comes to bagels.
The Falcons’ owner, Arthur Blank — whom Kraft referred to as a “brother” — was less loquacious.
“The one with everything on it,” he said. “Salt, garlic, sesame. Everything.”
Gerald Eskenazi contributed reporting.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
