Presidential elections resemble Superbowl XL

BY DUSAN VUKSANOVIC

Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a humongous sports fan or that I like comparing odd things. For whatever reason, the 2008 elections remind me of the Superbowl XL, when the Pittsburgh Steelers played against the Seattle Seahawks. Why? Several reasons.

The teams playing the Superbowl XL were fairly equal in strength. Similarly, the Yahoo! News had put several articles titled “Are Exit Polls Reliable” and “Obama leads McCain in 6 out of 8 key states” in order to get people hyped about the elections.

Then, there’s the Superbowl number – XL, which is a Latin numeral for forty. Exactly forty years ago, in 1968, the race riots broke out on the streets of Washington DC. Martin Luther King, Jr., the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, had been assassinated. Fast forward to 2008 and the Democrat National Convention, when an African American is running for the presidency of the most powerful country in the world.

And, how’s about the fact that the way the score progressed in both “games” was similar? For the purpose of my argument, metaphorically, McCain was the Seattle Seahawks, while Obama was the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, I’m sure that McCain would prefer the Arizona Cardinals (who, by the way, haven’t had a good “season” in a long time), while Obama would rather be the Chicago Bears.

Once the game started, the Seahawks got a 3-0 lead. For the elections, the first results came in at 7 PM on November 4. It was announced that McCain has won Kentucky and that Obama had claimed Vermont. 8-3 McCain. In football lingo, this would be a touchdown and a 2-point conversion for McCain, and a field goal for Obama.

However, as the game went on, the Steelers came back, and scored two unanswered touchdowns. 14-3 Pittsburgh! Ever since from that initial “shock”, the field looked pretty green for Obama. Key plays, like New York, Pennsylvania, and Massauchsets, had worked out efficiently, and put some much-needed points on the board.

Although two more TDs were seen on either side, the Seahawks never came close to beating the Steelers. Thus, the game ended 21-10. As for Obama… Well, his game ended in a 364-162 blowout. That means he scored 50 TDs, four field goals, and one safety. I believe the “safety” was called in Florida!

After the Superbowl, there were celebrations. The Lombardi trophy was lifted high, and Pittsburgh erupted in joy. The “thank-yous” and “we-couldn’t-have-done-this-without-yous” were shared by the Superbowl MVP and the owner of the Steelers.

Likewise, CNN broadcasted Obama’s speech, in which he thanked his offensive and defensive teams – campaign organizers, supporters, and donors. He thanked his wife, who, I would think, was one of the special team’s coaches. And, of course, he thanked the fans – the people of the United States of America.

A few days later, the National Football League returned to its off-topic, non-football related issues. What’s Jerome Bettis going to do now that he retired? Make a rap album? Become an actor? Win a Nobel Peace Prize?

On Wednesday, two days after the elections, Yahoo! had an article on its home page titled “Michelle Obama’s Election Night Dress.”

Ah, yes, it didn’t matter that America was in a great financial crisis. It didn’t matter that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were still going on. It didn’t matter that Iran still wanted to blow up Israel.

Yahoo!’s number one concern was – was Michelle Obama’s fashion taste appropriate for the November 4 occasion? After all, the wives of the president-elects only get to wear the winning dresses twice in their lifetimes, provided their husbands are re-elected! Except for FDR’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt!

So, call me a sports freak, but the two scenarios look pretty similar if you think about it. And, as for 2012, I heard that they’re forming a women’s NFL. Who knows, maybe in four years, we’ll get to watch a game between the Chicago Bears and the Alaska Drillers. It’s just a thought.

Oh, and, by the way, did I mention the fact that Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers QB, was the younger one of the two quarterbacks who were in that Superbowl XL? Well, he was!

On Wednesday, two days after the elections, Yahoo! had an article on its home page titled “Michelle Obama’s Election Night Dress.”

Short URL: http://www.themountaineer.org/?p=221

Posted by Dusan Vuksanovic on Nov 23, 2008 Filed under First-Person. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry