Obama speaks at Wesleyan as Belichick joins Hall of Fame – Sports and Politics, part 3
Posted May 25, 2008 on 2:32 am | In the category Election 2008, Politics, U.S. Domestic Policy, Uncategorized | by Mackenzie BrothersJust when it seemed that the US Democratic primary campaign was going to sink into the quicksand of complete disinterest, Barack Obama has made a deft move that is sure to focus attention on more interesting topics than the exact delegate vote not including Michigan, American Samoa, the Virgins Islands and Florida. My brother and I, lost in the snows of the tundra, haven’t been able to grasp the nuances of that mathematical formula. What we have figured out is that Middletown, Connecticut will be the centre of world attention this afternoon as Obama steps in in relief of his stricken brother-in-arms Ted Kennedy, who will be sitting in the first row as his stepdaughter graduates from one of the premier US East coast elite liberal Arts universities and his son celebrates the 15th anniversary of his graduation. But Wesleyan is also probably the premier elite small university in another area: sports, and my brother Doug thinks that Obama is hoping to gain stature by being in the presence of some of the heroic figures who are already in the Wesleyan Hall of Fame as Bill Belichick joins it along with legendary marathon runner Bill Rodgers.
But it is not only Rogers and Belichick, the winner of four Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and the most successful football coach in recent NFL history, who will be present, but also former Wesleyan student and current arch Belichick nemesis Coach Eric Mangini of NFL’s New York Jets, who will be there for his fifteenth reunion. For Wesleyan is the only university to have produced two current NFL coaches, and Doug and many scouts feel that Wesleyan’s combination of intellectual depth and athletic grace has led to the development of a number of quarterbacks wearing the red and black, who would surely have dominated the football fields of America if they hadn’t gone into more scholarly pursuits.
So give credit where it is due. Obama has made a very smart political move by moving into this territory. He will surely deliver an excellent commencement address, and do his friend Ted a favour while doing it, even if his own elite university background is limited to mainstream Harvard. But with any luck, the sports journalists will also be there to keep watch over Belichick and Mangini, and to see how Rodgers is running along these days. Obama can relax in the afterglow of some heavy hitters from the world of sports, whose chumminess would be most helpful to his popularity among the blue collar working folk.
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[...] MetaFilter | Community Weblog wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptJust when it seemed that the US Democratic primary campaign was going to sink into the quicksand of complete disinterest, Barack Obama has made a [...]
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It is good to see that Bob and Doug are back at full speed after a tough winter with two U.S.-based teams fighting it out for Lord Stanley’s cup and the Russians taking the World hockey championship. (As expected the U.S. team did not even make the finals).
As for the Reunion, it is rumored that Senator Obama got in a game of HORSE with Mangini while videographer Belichick captured the game for future broadcast on the NFL Cable Channel. It is also rumored that one of the Mackenzies had hoped to join Belichick and Rodgers in the Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame, but it was not to be. We will look for it next year.
Comment by jeff — May 26, 2008 #
Disappointment.
It is with great disappointment that a Magyar lesser demon such as myself has yet again to correct Bob and Doug in their wild inaccuracies. Anyone that follows the NFL even marginally (but why would one?) would know that BYU (Brian Billick & Andy Reid), USC (Jack Del Rio and Mike Holmgren), University of Oregon (Mike Nolan and Norv Turner), Eastern Illinois University (Brad Childress, Sean Payton & Mike Shanahan), and San Diego State (Herm Edwards, John Fox & Joe Gibbs) all have produced at least two current NFL coaches. Methinks that Bob & Doug should stick to hockey, lacrosse, and the occasional dog sled race.
I won’t even deign to remark to Jeff that the U.S. team did not even make the SEMI-finals, let alone the finals in the World Hockey Championships.
Back to eternal damnation.
Comment by belazeebub — May 26, 2008 #
Jeff has taken sports patriotism to a new level. The US didn’t even get into the Semi-final at the World championships, having been demolished by tiny Finland in the quarter finals.
Comment by Mackenzie Brothers — May 27, 2008 #
My goodness – did i say that the U.S. got into the semis? nope. What I said was they did not even make the finals – that is, of course true. I fear that George W. Bush has given us open season for any and all opportunities to rub salt into America’s largely self-inflicted wounds.
And, of course my comments on Doug and Bob’s disappointment were intended as sensitive empathy and certainly not deserving of vicious low-blow retaliations.
Comment by jeff — May 27, 2008 #