An update: After her tweet on Friday, Iowa got trounced by Stanford, 45-16. On Sunday, Fiorina told CNN's Dana Bash the tweet was "tongue-in-cheek" and that people in Iowa "knew my heart was torn" between Stanford and Iowa.

“Oh, for heaven's sakes, Dana -- for heaven's sakes, can't a girl ever have a little bit of fun? That was a tongue-in-cheek tweet, which the people of Iowa understand, because I was asked over and over again in Iowa, having attended a Hawkeye tailgate, I was asked," Fiorina said. "They knew that my heart was torn. You would think, based on this reaction, that I had some -- said something really controversial, like, you know, 'ISIS is a J.V. team,' or this demonstration was a result of a video. Let's just say, if the biggest mistake I make is a tongue-in-cheek tweet about a Rose Bowl, the America people will sleep safely when I'm president of the United States. … I guess it was a slow news day for the media.”

The original post follows:

I will disclose at the top of this post that I am an alumnus of the University of Minnesota. The University of Iowa is Minnesota's rival. And thus, I am predisposed against people who root for Iowa for any reason.

But when Carly Fiorina declared Friday afternoon that she was rooting for Iowa in college football's Rose Bowl, despite being from California, that's not even why it was bad.

It was bad because Iowa is playing her alma mater, Stanford University.

Love my alma mater, but rooting for a Hawkeyes win today. #RoseBowl — Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 1, 2016

That's right: Carly Fiorina is conveniently rooting against her own school and for the school from the state that just happens to be politically important to her current ambitions.

You almost have to give Fiorina credit for the brazenness of this pandering — the shamelessness of her sports allegiance being available to the bidder with the most political currency. And perhaps her campaign thought this would be kind of a fun thing to do. "Nobody would seriously think she's actually rooting for Iowa," you might picture her staffers saying to themselves.

But then you have to come to your senses and realize that this was just a ridiculous thing to do, especially considering how little chance Fiorina has of actually winning the Republican nomination. Pandering on political issues is one thing, but our sports teams should be sacred.

Changing one's position on immigration for political expediency is forgivable; you are supposed to be doing what your constituents want, after all. But doing it on sports teams demonstrates a character flaw that, to any sports fan, simply cannot be overlooked.

And it wasn't.

I thought farmer-pandering was the worst pandering. I was wrong. https://t.co/wTt5SrMGhm — Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) January 1, 2016

"I was going to vote for Ted Cruz, but this changes everything!" - 30,000 Iowa Republicans probably https://t.co/AvzDfHY7rR — daveweigel (@daveweigel) January 1, 2016

Urgh. Who thought this tweet was a good idea? RT @CarlyFiorina Love my alma mater, but rooting for a Hawkeyes win today. #RoseBowl — Brian Walsh (@brianjameswalsh) January 1, 2016

Carly! You can't turn your back on your alma mater in the Rose Bowl! https://t.co/ZXgz3g3lFX — Dianne Gallagher (@DianneG) January 1, 2016

@CarlyFiorina This is expert-level pandering. Very competent. I expect nothing less from you! — JimmyNeutron (@jneutron1969) January 1, 2016

When it all turned around for President Fiorina https://t.co/qd37x853qX — Alex Konrad (@alexrkonrad) January 1, 2016

Fiorina proving that all people running for president are bought by the highest bidder. https://t.co/LRS6qZgUkA — Pete (@PeteXU) January 1, 2016

Spineless pandering at its worst, Fiorina goes against her alma mater to cheer for Iowa. Iowans will see thru this. pic.twitter.com/HPR5fzh0Ev — Carter Hall (@CarterHall_) January 1, 2016

Carly Fiorina saying she supports the Hawkeyes to win votes in Iowa is almost vomit inducing. — Jacob Pomroy (@JacobPomroy) January 1, 2016

This one is from a top strategist for Ohio Gov. John Kasich:

And former congressman John Dingell (D-Mich.) might have won with this response:

I just groaned so hard I may have pulled a muscle. https://t.co/R1cpGE8zGY — John Dingell (@JohnDingell) January 1, 2016