MANITOWOC, Wis. – To the uninitiated, the autographed Packers jersey presented by Green Bay Mayor James J. Schmitt was standard fare for a visiting commander in chief, especially a fan of the hated Chicago Bears just down the road.

President Barack Obama receives an autographed Green Bay Packers Charles Woodson jersey from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, center, and Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt, upon his arrival in Green Bay, Wis., Wednesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

But the message of the jersey, with the “Woodson 21” on the back, was pretty pointed.

“See you at the White House….Go Packers!”

The reference was to a pep talk All-Pro cornerback Charles Woodson gave to the Pack after they defeated the Bears Sunday to win a trip to Super Bowl 45. Mr. Obama had promised he would go to the Super Bowl, if the Bears — his hometown team–went.

Mr. Woodson rallied his teammates, “The president don’t want to come watch us win the Super Bowl? Guess what? We’ll go see him.”

It was a reference to the traditional trip of the Super Bowl victor to the White House, but in these political times, it took on more significance. Conservative webmeister Matt Drudge posted the video under a headline declaring that Mr. Woodson had dissed the president. Yahoo Sports called it a “dig” at Mr. Obama.

For his part, the president took it in stride. He looked at the jersey, turned to reporters and declared, “They’re rubbing it in.”