Should this Yankee fan root for the Red Sox to help Kerry win?

[milkyway]

Two nights before the election, the Red Sox could be winning the World Series in Boston. The Red Sox finally winning will be a huge national story, positive and uplifting, and I think some of the goodwill would transfer to Kerry. A Red Sox championship will win votes for Kerry.

The problem is that I live in New York and I've been a strong Yankee fan my whole life. I was sitting in the right field bleachers at Fenway for the Bucky Dent playoff game in 1978 (I was in college, and my friend and I took Amtrak to Boston early in the morning and were real lucky to scalp tickets from some Boston fans. My friend and I were the only ones standing and cheering when Dent hit his home run. I didn't think we would make it out of Fenway alive, but the fans near us were too bummed out to give us a lot of trouble.)

So should I swallow my pride, willing to give Red Sox fans something to gloat about for all eternity, and instead see Boston as our blue-state brothers in the much larger war for the soul of our country?

I've already made my decision. Let's go, Red Sox! And congratulations. You were the better team this week.

[MallRat]

1. The Bush campaign has already launched a pre-emptive attack.

I gotta go find it... it was really cheap and petty, but BC04 put out a press release charging Kerry with politicizing the Red Sox and being a bandwagon-jumper.

As if Kerry had never been a Red Sox fan until last week.

:eyes:

-MR

[TaleWgnDg]

7. here's the DU thread on that . . .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=925422&mesg_id=925422

. . . . . .

[rocktivity]

10. The press release accuses Kerry of "sports pandering"

Here's a DU thread on the subject.

:headbang:
rocknation

[aquart]

2. See? It was easy.

But the meme is: the Series is the anti-climax, the miracle already occurred.

[TaleWgnDg]

3. thanks. and, yes, go Red Sox !!

. . . . . . . .




.

[Barney Rocks]

4. I think you should feel

free to cheer for whatever team you like in the World Series. The World Series outcome is not going to determine the outcome of the presidential race. At best, I guess it could be considered a good luck omen for Kerry if the Soxs win--but I really don't think that the election will hinge on how the World Series goes.

The election is stressful--I say just enjoy the ballgame--they are totally separate. (Although I would like to see Kerry throw out the first pitch!)

[clydefrand]

5. Absolutely. I commend you for your courage, Milkyway

I'll root for the Yankees when Hillary runs in 2012...if I'm still around. :-) I don't normally root for either team (or any team for that matter), but for you--I will.

[incapsulated]

6. It's not easy...

I'm a Met fan, myself. But I would root for the *gulp* Yankees if it helped Kerry.

We all have to make sacrifices right now, and giving up a lifetime of sports hatred isn't easy, but we must. Good for you! :)

[rocktivity]

19. Incapsulated, you sound like a DU-er after my own heart!

Mets fan since 1968, have always hated the Yanks. So it's been easy for me to root for the Bosox, LOL!

I've been making jokes that Bush's fundie voters might interpet the Bosox rising from the dead after three games and beating the Yanks as a sign that God prefers Kerry. Then I read this--the Bush campaign are thinking the same thing! A Bosox World Series win would help Kerry enormously, and they know it!

:headbang:
rocknation

[incapsulated]

28. Hey!

This is an easy assignment for us Met's fans, heh.

I figure we owe the Sox after what we did to them, too.

Sorry. ;)

But the timing is sooo much better this time! :)


And anything that bothers the rethugs is reason enough for me!

[Zorbet55]

8. Completely unrelated to the political arena

I have been a Cardinals fan all my life and will pull for them in the World Series. It is superstition to think that the World Series will affect the voting of anyone who is serious about their vote.

:toast:

Besides, we can't expect the Cardinal fans to root for Boston just because they are Dems voting for Kerry.

You guys will get back to the Series soon enough.

[incapsulated]

12. It's not superstitious

To me, as a fan of a "cursed" team (NY Rangers) I know how devastating it is to lose over and over when you are so close and how incredibly liberating and joyful it is to finally win.

I want Kerry in that latter state of mind right now! :)

(I do, however, exempt Card's fans. That's too much to ask.)

[CMO]

14. Well said!

[Career Prole]

9. Noble gesture, my November through March brother!

And I want you to know that I thought Torre's electing not to bunt for the base hit multiple times against an obviously gimpy Schilling was Sportsmanship with a capital 'S'. We'll do it again next year (if the Yanks can snag the wild card ;))
:hi:

[carpetbagger]

11. Yes, you absolutely should, even without mentioning Kerry.

They played one hell of a series. Rooting for them does a number of things:

1. Gets the monkey off their back (no electoral pun intended). They get their ring, then they go to free agency. I bet there's at least one in the Yankee lineup next year.

2. Save face. We lost this year (I'm a native New Yorker) to an unbeatable team. Look what they did in the World Series.

3. Hippies. Gotta root for the hippies.

[CMO]

13. You can't root for the Red Sox...

they beat your beloved Yankees...the World Series has nothing to do with the election...that's why you should root for the Cardinals!!!!!

Go CARDS!!!!!!!!!!! Go KERRY!!!!!!!!



St. Louis Cardinals 2004 World Series Champs!!!! :toast: :headbang:

[incapsulated]

17. Do you want Kerry to be sad...

and cry because his team is cursed just before the election???

:cry:

You Bastard!

The Yanks are out, they gain nothing if the Sox lose, in fact, it makes them look bad to lose to a team that isn't good enough to go all the way.

Besides, they have more Championships than they know what to do with, ferchissakes!

[CMO]

20. Thats not nice

to call me a bastard. I will always love the cardinals and I will share that love with the world!

P.S. The Cards haven't won the series since 1982.:loveya:

[incapsulated]

27. Take it as the joke that it was, lol

I guess you never watched Southpark (just as well).

Besides, I exempt Card's fans. I can't ask someone to root against their own team.

:hi:

(oh, and the Sox haven't won in almost a century, don't even bother trying for sympathy against that record, lol)

[CMO]

29. I tried!

I don't remember the '82 series...does that help? ;)

...and I've never seen southpark but I thought you were kidding.

[incapsulated]

33. Ok, if you *really* don't remember...

But you still have a free pass because your team is playing.

Good luck! (go sox, hehe)

[CMO]

36. Thanks for the free pass

I will take advantage of that! I really don't remember. I was 3 in 1982. :toast:

[lolamio]

15. Yes!

I was born and raised in the Bronx, and my grandfather knew Babe Ruth; being a Yankee fan is a birthright for me. However, I have spent the past few days rationaling their loss and am now rooting for both the Red Sox and John Kerry to bring it all home. I know intellectually that there is no real connection between the election and baseball. But in my heart, I am clinging to it. I also think there is something about the Red Sox going all the way that can't help but to be a uniting force for the people of New England. At the very least, it certainly can't hurt the prospects of Kerry carrying Maine and New Hampshire!

Go Sox! :)

[CMO]

21. ?

Didn't the Patriots win the super bowl recently? Thats enough uniting. New England will be even more united when Kerry wins.

[iwantmycountryback]

16. Nooooooooooooooooooo!!

If the Red Sox win than that's great, but don't you DARE root for them! I'm trying not think about baseball right now, the J-E-T-S have big game this Sunday.

[Mr_Spock]

35. Oh, yes - we have to beat the Jets too - hehe! :o)

Gotta love these rivalries huh?

[HootieMcBoob]

18. Root for the team that hasn't won a World Series since 1918

It's the right thing to do :)

[Cha]

22. Have you read this baseball analogy to the

Presidency by Jonathon Alter of Newsweek?
<snip>
"..But what if one is connected to the other?

I’d argue that the Red Sox come-from-behind victory over George Steinbrenner’s Yankees is an omen of what will (OK, might) happen on Election Day.

The real struggle is already over. Even if the Red Sox lose the World Series, they have already fought the power—and won.

Yes, some Yankees players (and many fans) are Democrats, and plenty of Red Sox players and fans are Republicans. But aesthetically, the Yankees are a Republican team, even if their color is blue, and not just because owner George Steinbrenner almost went to jail for shenanigans he pulled with Richard Nixon. And the Red Sox are a Democratic team, even if their color is red, and not just because a part-owner of the franchise, Tom Werner, is a Democrat."end <snip?


And Tom Werner is going to campaign with Kerry?! :kick:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6301121/site/newsweek

[Jeebo]

23. I hope Cardinals fans won't be P.O.'d at Kerry's Sox...

If the Cardinals from the swing state of Missouri lose to the Red Sox when Kerry is clearly rooting for the Red Sox, could that piss off enough Missouri people at Kerry who would otherwise have voted for Kerry to swing the state just barely to Bush? And if so, those 11 electoral votes could be the difference.

I'm pulling for the Red Sox too. Even though I live in Missouri, I'm an Atlanta Braves fan and I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Red Sox. Besides, I usually root for the team that hasn't won the World Series in the longest time.

But I think a Red Sox victory is much more likely to harm Kerry's chances than to help them. And that makes me nervous.

I wish the Astros had won game seven. Then the World Series would be between a Texas team (a solid red state) and a Massachusetts team (a solid blue state) and the outcome of the series would have no possibility of affecting the presidential election.

Ron

[Cha]

30. I had the same thought Yesterday!

My mind is thinking politically all the time now:D

I was hoping the same thing about the Astros.

I do remember one thing, though, that a DUer said about the Cardinals..he said..after the 2nd debate when Kerry was in Missouri..he promised the people there that there would be a Red Sox/Cardinal World Series and the poster believed him!

So..we shall see!

[txindy]

24. Absolutely. If we here in Texas can 'take one for the team' and bring Jr.

back here after President Kerry's inauguraton, you can root for the Red Sox for, at the most, seven games. Aw, go on! ;)

[milkyway]

25. It will be much more than an omen or superstition. It will win votes for

Kerry, especially if they win it in Boston on Saturday or Sunday. It will be a large national story that transcends sports. Subconsciously, the feelgood Red Sox story will rub off on Kerry in some people's minds. Millions of dollars are spent on advertising for the same reason. No one will go into the voting booth and think, "I'll vote for Kerry because the Red Sox won." But all of the positive vibes will inevitably affect some people when they vote, even if they won't admit it.

Jeebo, however, made a good point: Missouri is a swing state, and resentment toward the Red Sox could influence voters there on election day. The question is, is Missouri more important than the handful of voters who would be influenced in Ohio, Florida, etc?

[deadparrot]

26. Nah, 110% Cards fan here, and I'm pulling for my boys.

It's sports, root for who you want.

[fishwax]

31. Absoutely -- historical documentation

11 times in history we've had a presidential candidate from the same state as a world series team.

In 3 elections (1936, 1952, and 1956), both teams were from the same state as the candidate. Further, In 1 election, both candidates were from the same state (Ohio) as the winning team. These four elections don't tell us much.

Of the remaining 7 elections:

Only once did a team win the world series and a candidate from the same state lose (Al Smith of New York in 1928)

Twice a W.S. victory by the team was follwed with a victory by the candidate: FDR in '32 and Nixon in '68 (If only South Dakota had a major league team, how different history might have been!)

Three times the loss by the team was followed with a loss by the candidate: Teddy R in 1912 (as a 3rd party candidate), Charles Hill in 1916, and John Davis in 1924.

Only once was the team's loss followed by the candidate's victory: In 1984, Reagan won in spite of the San Diego Padres losing the world series.

So the trend seems to indicate that a Boston win would be a definite advantage for Kerry, while a Boston loss might be hard to overcome.

:D:D

But that said, I'm sure it's just coincidence ...

[SammyWinstonJack]

32. Yes you should!

The Sox deserve this! They were the better team! I say Go Sox!

[Buck Rabbit]

34. I highly recommend it, you will be in a can't lose scenario.

As a rabid Oregon Duck, there have been a couple of occasions over the years where match ups with a particular opponent have made me root for the despicable Washington Huskies for a game.

It's great because if this temporary favorite of yours wins it helps your real cause. If they lose you can console yourself in seeing your long time enemy get beat. Win-Win.

Hmmm, I must be getting soft, I mentioned the dirty dawg Huskies without calling them rat bastards.

[OneBlueSky]

37. this Yankee fan is supporting the Sox, and strongly . . .

I've never had any ill feelings for the BoSox . . . they're a great team, as are the Yankees . . . they whipped us but good and deserve all the accolades, and I for one would love to see them win the Series just to put that stupid curse thing to bed once and for all . . . it would also make my friends in New England very happy . . . including John Kerry . . . :)

Go Sox! . . . (until next year, that is) . . .