Politics or football? Obama makes it so country does not have to choose

Years ago, it was an occasional debate among press-box sociologists about which sport was more attractive to members of the two political parties. The

Frank Deford | Sep 7, 2011

Politics or football? Obama makes it so country does not have to choose /

Years ago, it was an occasional debate among press-box sociologists about which sport was more attractive to members of the two political parties. The consensus was that football was more for Republicans, baseball for Democrats -- the general reasoning being that GOP types were more militarily inclined, as is the gridiron game, and that since football had long been more a college sport, and more Republicans had gone to college, football had a greater Republican tradition.

This was all, as you can tell, pretty unscientific reasoning among sports writers who knew earned run averages better than polling samples, but today the NFL is sooo popular that that old discussion is moot. I suspect now that football is equally beloved by Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Tea Partiers, Libertarians, Socialists, Whigs, Know-Nothings ... and even Ralph Nader die-hards. So I suppose we can understand why, when President Obama found out that he was only welcome to appear before Congress on Thursday, that he decided on a seven o'clock Eastern-time speech, so as not to conflict with an 8:30 NFL game.

But really now: are football fans so utterly involved with their sport that they couldn't sacrifice watching about one quarter of one regular-season game to hear the President talk about economics in the middle of an economic crisis?

GALLERY: U.S. Presidents At Play

Now, to be fair to football, its fans are hardly the only Americans who would put entertainment above citizenship. Exceptionalism? We're an exceptionally negligent nation when it comes to exercising our franchise as opposed to supporting the local NFL franchise. Only 41.5 percent of eligible voters bothered to go to the polls in last year's national election, and I've got to assume that not all of the uncaring 58.5 percent were football nuts.

Still, when the President wants to speak to the nation, there's something unsettling about him being afraid to take on NFL fans. Specifically, forfeiting prime time to football means that President Obama will be speaking to the West Coast at four in the afternoon -- a terribly inconvenient time. Good grief, it's lucky that Oprah isn't still on in the afternoons or the President may have had no choice but to come on after midnight in order not to upset the amusement patterns of our citizenry.

Really now, must the President become a lounge act for a football game if that means it is so much more difficult for millions of people out west -- those who really do care about policy -- to hear an important speech from the country's leader?

Sept. 8 -- a day that will live in apathy.

The logical conclusion to all this is that it would be wise to shift election day from the heart of the football season in November to, say, May or June, when at least some pigskin devotees wouldn't be so in thrall to football that they might actually go out and vote.

Published Sep 7, 2011

FRANK DEFORD

Frank Deford is among the most versatile of American writers. His work has appeared in virtually every medium, including print, where he has written eloquently for Sports Illustrated since 1962. Deford is currently the magazine's Senior Contributing Writer and contributes a weekly column to SI.com. Deford can be heard as a commentator each week on Morning Edition. On television he is a regular correspondent on the HBO show Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel. He is the author of 15 books, and his latest,The Enitled, a novel about celebrity, sex and baseball, was published in 2007 to exceptional reviews. He and Red Smith are the only writers with multiple features in The Best American Sports Writing of the Century. Editor David Halberstam selected Deford's 1981 Sports Illustrated profile on Bobby Knight (The Rabbit Hunter) and his 1985 SI profile of boxer Billy Conn (The Boxer and the Blonde) for that prestigious anthology. For Deford the comparison is meaningful. "Red Smith was the finest columnist, and I mean not just sports columnist," Deford told Powell's Books in 2007. "I've always said that Red is like Vermeer, with those tiny, priceless pieces. Five hundred words, perfectly chosen, crafted. Best literary columnist, in any newspaper, that I've ever seen." Deford was elected to the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. Six times at Sports Illustrated Deford was voted by his peers as U.S. Sportswriter of The Year. The American Journalism Review has likewise cited him as the nation's finest sportswriter, and twice he was voted Magazine Writer of The Year by the Washington Journalism Review. Deford has also been presented with the National Magazine Award for profiles; a Christopher Award; and journalism honor awards from the University of Missouri and Northeastern University; and he has received many honorary degrees. The Sporting News has described Deford as "the most influential sports voice among members of the print media," and the magazine GQ has called him, simply, "The world's greatest sportswriter." In broadcast, Deford has won a Cable Ace award, an Emmy and a George Foster Peabody Award for his television work. In 2005 ESPN presented a television biography of Deford's life and work, You Write Better Than You Play. Deford has spoken at well over a hundred colleges, as well as at forums, conventions and on cruise ships around the world. He served as the editor-in-chief of The National Sports Daily in its brief but celebrated existence. Deford also wrote Sports Illustrated's first Point After column, in 1986. Two of Deford's books, the novel, Everybody's All-American, and Alex: The Life Of A Child, his memoir about his daughter who died of cystic fibrosis, have been made into movies. Two of his original screenplays have also been filmed. For 16 years Deford served as national chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and he remains chairman emeritus. He resides in Westport, CT, with his wife, Carol. They have two grown children – a son, Christian, and a daughter, Scarlet. A native of Baltimore, Deford is a graduate of Princeton University, where he has taught American Studies.