We're officially 4 hours and 8 minutes into Barack Obama's Presidency, and while his Inauguration is an event that all Americans, Illinoisans, and Chicagoans should be proud of, it's becoming apparent,
even to outsiders, that
the White Sox are taking this "First Fan" thing a bit too far.
Before I begin, let's get a few things straight:
- I like Barack Obama and am glad that he's both the President and a Sox fan. As a lifelong resident of Illinois, I've had the chance to vote for Obama 4 times. 3 times I did. That means I'm batting .750!
- Don't read too much into who I've voted for. By virtue of growing up in Illinois' 5th Congressional District, I'm almost certain the politician that I've voted for the most times in my life is Rod Blagojevich.
However, the level of coddling the Sox are doing with the President is beginning to get uncomfortable. First and foremost, over 58 million Americans voted for the other guy this November, and it's likely that a couple of them are Sox fans. I don't think many non-Sox fans are going to jump ship to the Pale Hose for the new President, but I do think you risk alienating some current fans by making a political figure representative of your team.
Second, plenty of teams have famous fans, but not to many of them go this far out of their way to acknowledge their celebrity. Sure, the Cubs have guest singers conduct "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," and every other team likes to parade famous faces out for a ceremonial first pitch, but this whole Obama infatuation really is taking it to a new level... An Obama-themed hat? Too far, White Sox... Too far. The Rangers didn't even have this level of fanfare for George W. Bush and he once owned the team.
Finally, let's not forget how flighty the American public can be. George Bush recorded the highest and lowest approval ratings for a President in his term; 92% in October of 2001 and 19% twice in 2008. Barack Obama may be the toast of the town now, but there's a chance you'll end up with egg all over your face if he's being pushed out of the way in 2013.
Ultimately, I don't mind if individual fans are celebrating Barack Obama's Inauguration and his sports preferences, and I wouldn't mind if the Sox were to bring him in for another First Pitch, but I think the organization is embarrassing itself with its over infatuation of the new President. We're not lonely 14-year-old high school girls, he's not the star quarterback of the football team, and we don't need to be wishfully writing Mrs. Barack Obama on every page of our Algebra notebook.
White Sox Hitch Their Wagon To Obama's Star - Deadspin
South Siders ready to hail the Chief - Whitesox.com
Election Center 2008 - CNN
United States Presidential approval rating - Wikipedia
With the first week of Spring Training in the books, easily one of the biggest stories from Glendale has been the amazing comeback of Jose Contreras. 30 pounds lighter and somehow ready to pitch to live batters, he has thrust himself into the fold for a job in the starting rotation. All of this, has pushed Bartolo Colon out of the spotlight, but just a few weeks ago, he was all but a lock to be the Sox's 4th starter. Now, that's not so certain. From The Daily Herald,
