Games People Play

There is a certain cynical part of my brain that says the recent defections of conservative columnists and Colin Powell to the Obama camp is based on the realization that the country is screwed for at least the next few years. The strategy? "Let's put the other party in charge so whatever happens next is hung on their neck and we can breeze back in as saviors four years hence." Never mind the positive revenue impact on the conservative press which will have a ratings/circulation/web site viewing windfall as like-minded folk gather to fulminate at the perceived horrors of a Democratic administration.

Note that this has nothing to do with my own political inclinations (or stock holdings, such as they are) but rather my opinion of how humans behave when power is at stake or when a contest is underway.

The World Series will get underway Wednesday in Tampa in front of what could be an interesting crowd. Most Rays fans were, in all likelihood, Yankees fans until about a month ago. For the uninitiated, the Yankees off-season and spring training base is in Tampa and consequently they are quite popular there. I'm wondering how much of the mania that surrounded the Rays 7 game defeat of the Boston Red Sox had to do with Yankees fans in the area adopting a surrogate team to root for against the arrogant Sawks and I wonder how many snowbird Phillies fans will dot the crowd on Wednesday. In other words, will the Rays still have a home field advantage crowd-wise?

I wonder too where will the loyalties of New Yorkers reside. Mets fans hate the Phillies, but since we all know Rays fans are converted Yankees fans can the Mets fans root for a team whose championship would make Yankees fans, and really the worst kind of bandwagon-jumping Yankees fans happy? Or will they root for the NL team hoping to finally make a dent in the superiority that the AL has exhibited in All Star and post-season play in recent years? And can Yankees fans who stayed Yankees fans root for the NL or will they side with their less faithful brethren and become Rays supporters?

Politics and sports make for strange alliances, eh?

Comments

R R Rabbids said…
As for you're opening statement, I think that you, and everyone else, may be missing the most important point. Have we already, after almost two years, forgotten how bad single party control is?

If you vote for this guy, you get someone from the same party who agrees with the schmoes (is that a word?) that are already in charge.

If you vote for that guy, you get someone from some other (kinda, sorta) party who agrees with the schmoes (is that a still word?) that are already in charge.

Huh? Oh, never mind. The "other" party, whichever that may be, is all out of white horses. We're screwed.

As for the rest of the post; I do believe you plagiarized most of it from a comment left elsewhere.
October 21, 2008 at 7:29 PM
JH said…
National league fans should ALWAYS root for the NL in the WS. I do that (except for the Braves). The Mets are a bunch of Johnny-come-latelys so the fans should root for the Phils who have been around for a long time. The Rays are a bunch of newbies who got lucky and need to lose so they can start to experience pain and appreciate it more when they finally do win the WS in another 20-30 years.
October 22, 2008 at 8:38 AM
DC said…
CR-

I didn't say who I was voting for, I was merely speculating on a reason for the sudden defection from the McCain camp by some folks on the right. It is worth noting that as Obama's poll numbers have risen so have the ratings for Fox News just as MSNBC got a rise when the McCain got his post-convention Caribou Barbie (I love that nickname) bump.

In other words, I'm evaluating this not in terms of what's "best for America" (because nobody who works in politics does) but rather how the game is being played. Hence the title of the post.

Oh and it's not plagarism to repeat oneself.
October 22, 2008 at 8:57 AM
R R Rabbids said…
Actually, I wasn't questioning your leanings in any way. "Breeze back in as saviors" is what caught my eye and my point remains. The strategy to let "the other" party screw it up further is a non-starter. Neither tweedle-dumb nor tweedle-dumber, or the organizations they represent have any inclination to save anything other than themselves.

The only upside I can see is that the masses will rush to bury their pain by viewing mindless sporting events. And then you'll remain gainfully employed and we'll all be happy.

Go Phils.
October 22, 2008 at 12:33 PM
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