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At long last, the leader of the free world has weighed in on Deflategate. His reaction? A big shrug, more or less.

"Here's what I know: the Patriots were going to beat the Colts regardless of what the footballs looked like," Mr. Obama said, referring to whether or not the New England Patriots intentionally deflated footballs to make them easier to throw.

The presidents comments came in a pre-game interview on NBC with Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie. Obama also spoke on the economy, answered questions about getting his agenda through an uncooperative Congress, and played rapid-fire round of either/or with Guthrie (he prefers basketball over football, offense over defense, and chips and guacamole over Buffalo wings).

What surprised him, the president went on to say, was the fact that teams are in charge of their own footballs at all. "I'm assuming one of the things the NFL is going to be doing just to avoid any of these controversies is figuring out how the officials are in charge of the footballs from start to finish," he said.

But Ms. Guthrie pressed him. Was it cheating if the Patriots under-inflated the footballs?

"If you break the rules, then you break the rules," he replied

Obama was also mum on who he was rooting for during the game, or which team he thought would prevail, saying he wouldnt want to alienate a major city by picking a side.

Obamas favorite team, the Chicago Bears, didnt get anywhere near Glendale this year, but the team will play a big part in the Super Bowl thanks to Deflategate: The Bears equipment manager is in charge of both teams game balls, arranging them for the Patriots and Seahawks ball boy crews. The NFL says the practice of hiring a third-party equipment manager for the Super Bowl is typical.

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Obama on Deflategate: Patriots would have won 'regardless'