Obama is a Steelers Fan??
Okay, so I heard on the news President Obama is rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers tomorrow in the Super Bowl. As a Steelers fan, I think that's just great. Whoopee. But frankly I don't think the President should be taking sides in something like the Super Bowl unless a.) one of the teams is from his hometown, or b.) one of the teams is the Washington Redskins. That's the only excuse for a President to show any kind of partisanship toward a sports team in something as big as the Super Bowl.
It sounds to me like he's just trying to keep his bread buttered in Pennsylvania, where he won a somewhat unlikely victory in the election a few months ago. Add to that the fact that he did not manage to carry the state of Arizona, and probably will not ever carry it, and you see why he might have an interest in rooting for Steel City.
BUT...most of the PA counties the Obama won were in the Eastern part of the state, and therefore more likely to be Philadelphia Eagles fans. The Western PA counties, which are most likely to be Steelers fans, went almost totally for McCain. If you're an Eagles fan, you probably don't like the Steelers much, in fact you probably hate them. There's no "we're all from Pennsylvania" feeling there. So, not only is Obama kind of spitting in the eye of the region of PA that got him elected, but he's kowtowing to a region who voted, en masse, for his opponent. Net benefit? Zero. It just sounds like more campaigning, which he doesn't need to do right now. He's the President of the whole country.
The President, in my estimation, is supposed to be above this kind of thing. He should've offered some sort of benevolent, birds-eye-view analysis of the game, to show he's a good Sports-Following American Man. But I still want to come away from the whole thing thinking he's got better things to do than choose sides in the Super Bowl:
"Well, the Steelers obviously have the superior defense. Ahhh....Mr. Polomalu is fine, fine athlete. But...I think the Cardinals have some... potent offensive weapons in their arsenal as well, such as, ah, Mr. Warner and Mr. Fitzgerald, and I'm sure it's going to be a great game for fans on both sides of the aisle...I mean country. I'm sure I'll manage to tune in for a few minutes Sunday night."
For a President who has run his campaign on bi-partisanship and reaching across the aisle, was it really a wise move to pick sides in the biggest game of the biggest sport in the biggest sports-crazy country in the world? It might not do him any harm, but it's definitely not going to win him any supporters.
Okay so, big deal, right? Well, people in this country place a big importance on sports, and most are better versed in sports than politics. I just think from a political perspective, it was not a smart move.
It sounds to me like he's just trying to keep his bread buttered in Pennsylvania, where he won a somewhat unlikely victory in the election a few months ago. Add to that the fact that he did not manage to carry the state of Arizona, and probably will not ever carry it, and you see why he might have an interest in rooting for Steel City.
BUT...most of the PA counties the Obama won were in the Eastern part of the state, and therefore more likely to be Philadelphia Eagles fans. The Western PA counties, which are most likely to be Steelers fans, went almost totally for McCain. If you're an Eagles fan, you probably don't like the Steelers much, in fact you probably hate them. There's no "we're all from Pennsylvania" feeling there. So, not only is Obama kind of spitting in the eye of the region of PA that got him elected, but he's kowtowing to a region who voted, en masse, for his opponent. Net benefit? Zero. It just sounds like more campaigning, which he doesn't need to do right now. He's the President of the whole country.
The President, in my estimation, is supposed to be above this kind of thing. He should've offered some sort of benevolent, birds-eye-view analysis of the game, to show he's a good Sports-Following American Man. But I still want to come away from the whole thing thinking he's got better things to do than choose sides in the Super Bowl:
"Well, the Steelers obviously have the superior defense. Ahhh....Mr. Polomalu is fine, fine athlete. But...I think the Cardinals have some... potent offensive weapons in their arsenal as well, such as, ah, Mr. Warner and Mr. Fitzgerald, and I'm sure it's going to be a great game for fans on both sides of the aisle...I mean country. I'm sure I'll manage to tune in for a few minutes Sunday night."
For a President who has run his campaign on bi-partisanship and reaching across the aisle, was it really a wise move to pick sides in the biggest game of the biggest sport in the biggest sports-crazy country in the world? It might not do him any harm, but it's definitely not going to win him any supporters.
Okay so, big deal, right? Well, people in this country place a big importance on sports, and most are better versed in sports than politics. I just think from a political perspective, it was not a smart move.
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