On Christmas Eve, 2007, Sports Illustrated…which was quite a big deal then… ran a back of the book story by Scott Price, who had the chance to play then-candidate Barack Obama in a game of basketball. The story showed casual sports fans, who many times are also politics averse, a side of the candidate that they did not know about. That story of course was the first of many where sports and soon the be at the time President Obama crossed paths on his way to the White House. While it probably pales in comparison to all the other initiatives the Obama camp used for engaging casual voters (social media being one of the biggest), the ability for the candidate at the time to show that he could relate to the casual sports fan was very important. Did it sway the election the following November? Maybe not with huge numbers, but it is hard to think that a President who could make a jump shot (and who has a brother in law in Craig Robinson who was a coach) did not at least influence some people to cast a ballot. The other candidates made the odd NASCAR appearance, Senator McCain went on a few hunting trips, but none embraced a sports fan like former President Obama did.
We have seen other candidates for higher office use the engagement of sport to try and find common ground with swing voters over time. President Bush was a former Texas Rangers owner, and was able to find home plate more than a few times with a first pitch. President Clinton whooped it up with Arkansas at the Final Four and loved being around athletes. President Trump was and is the golf guy, using his time on the links as a way to do business. President Biden, a casual biker and fan of sport, but for deep ties to a team game like hoops? Not really. And in the fall?
Nothing like football.
The gridiron and POTUS bids and elections aren’t the newest of course. President Kennedy was a football guy, Gerald Ford played at Michigan, Ronald Reagan was “The Gipper” in one of his most famous roles and so on. Heck, even Senator Marco Rubio, during his short-lived bid for the Republican nomination, had a targeted campaign ad tied to all things football from his love of the Miami Dolphins to marrying a former ‘Fins cheerleader to his passion for fantasy football.
That brings us to today, where we are seeing heavy political buys by both candidates in swing states around the only appointment viewing consumers have these days…live sports. If you watch the NFL in the opening weeks in New York, you would not really know there was a campaign. But in Pennsylvania or Georgia, ads take up every second seemingly of regional air time. This past week during broadcasts the Harris campaign launched ads to target Hispanic voters who were tuning in for football in key states, and President Trump has mentioned making some college football stops in the coming weeks as well, all to try and find that connectivity on an emotional and personal level with voters looking for more than shouting and deflecting to earn the trust of a candidate.
And that’s where Tim Walz comes in. The Coach. There was an interesting read by Buzz Bissinger in the New York Times a few weeks ago about the intangible value the Governor of Minnesota can bring to the streets, the practice fields and the Friday Night Lights in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania, because, as Bissinger points out there are few things more ritualistic, American, and relatable in small communities that weekend high school football, and there are few more revered titles to be respected than Coach. He, she, or they have a certain reverence, are of a certain club, transcend many boundaries that candidates have, because of the time they spend on the sidelines and in the locker rooms and the weight rooms win or lose every fall, and when you come down to being able to relate, Tim Walz has that position very authentically that no one on either ticket can own this fall.
It’s not the only ownable area, and it certainly isn’t the most important reason to flip a lever on election day, but it opens a door and probably gets into a conversation that no one else can, with athletes of a voting age, with coaches and administrators and alumni and band members and even parents and grandparents, that might change or reframe a message, an emotion or a thought just enough to check a box that was either going to be unchecked, or checked in another way in the voting booth.
While there has been so much said about Taylor Swift and the influence, or lack of influence, that celebrities can have (here is a good link that looks at what, if any, a celebrity endorsement could actually mean come Election Day), what is true is that many times we cast our vote for someone we feel is one of us, and if you follow and know the lore of the power of high school football in middle America…just listen not to Springsteen’s ‘Glory Days,’ but to Kenny Chesney’s ‘The Boys of Fall’…then don’t understate the power, the authentic connection face to face, that Tim Walz can have in the coming crisp autumn weekends. I don’t know if The Coach is hitting games every weekend in those key states, but if I was thinking about places of impact, that’s where I would be heading, not to preach or even campaign, but to listen and relate. Boy would there be a wonderful Peter King column there on his travels with The Coach, maybe we will see it soon.
One thing is for sure. The Presidential candidate, and his/her running mate, who is able to court those casual fans in the past few elections did get a nice little boost, and maybe more of a second look when controversy reared its head at least the first time. President Obama rarely passed a basketball court without taking a look at the rim. It made sports a talking point when there was not one to engage people, and made them all seem just a little more human, and a little less lofty. It is also a pretty smooth engagement point for consumers who may tire if hearing the same debate time and again. Is sports talk essential given all the goings-on today? It certainly shouldn’t be at the top of an issues list, but it is good to play at the right time, which Walz cane certainly do going down the stretch.
Coaches lead and transcend, never underestimate their intangible ability to unite, especially when the score is close.
