In the interim between the Pittsburgh Penguins’ early ouster from the NHL playoffs Sunday, and Pennsylvania’s primary election Tuesday, it occurs to me that sports fans and the voters in the electorate have a lot in common, much of it not flattering.
There is a component — a small one — of both the fan and voter bases made up of people who understand the respective situations, can articulate their positions, and can make arguments worth listening to, even if you don’t necessarily agree with them.
To repeat, that is the minority in both instances. More common are blowhards, doctrinaire idiots and largely confused types who think volume can make up for lack of substance.
And so the Penguins and many of their fans did not disappoint. To recap, the Penguins blew a 3-games-to-1 lead in the best of seven series with the New York Rangers. They consistently could not hold leads in games, including twice in the deciding Game 7.
But many a Penguins fan was heard to whine after the fact that Sidney Crosby missed some time in the series due to an injury. These fans thought it was a ridiculous cheap shot by the Ranger, even though no penalty was called at the time and the NHL, having looked at the hit afterward as they do in such situations, found it warranted no fine or suspension.
This does not appease the vocal, whining majority of Penguins fans, who also are lamenting the NHL’s helmet rule supposedly costing them the tying goal in the third period of Game 7 even though if you watch replays, all five Penguins players were in a position possibly to play defense on the score. They just didn’t choose to do so.
It reminds me of the genius a few years back sitting behind me and the wife at a Mannheim Steamroller Christmas concert. At the time Jordan Staal played for the Penguins and was coming back from an injury.
This fan behind me opined (repeatedly) in his outside calling voice that the Penguins would be better off not playing Staal because their trio of two-man defenseman pairings were better without him.
I resisted the urge to point out to the amateur analyst that Staal is a center, admittedly a good one defensively, but not a defenseman. I did note to my wife, who could care less, that this is typical of fandom. Often wrong, but never in doubt.
This is not a new phenomenon spawned by the internet, although that electronic soapbox has made the noise issued by the sporting illiterati louder. Back when I was a young man, there was a considerable slice of Steelers fandom that thought the team should take advantage of Terry Bradshaw’s scrambling prowess by making him a running back.
To recap, many fans thought a quarterback who would go on to win the Super Bowl four times, and made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, should be shifted to running back, ostensibly to replace Franco Harris, a running back also headed to the Hall of Fame.
Voters are not much better. Believe it or not, there still is a considerable slice of the electorate that believes Joe Biden is doing a good job as president. Apparently these people don’t buy gasoline, don’t shop at stores with barren shelves, and don’t find themselves encountering or hearing about increased street violence, among other issues.
Dreamers think this dire political situation might change in the fall due to enlightened voter choices. I’m not holding my breath.
Meanwhile, both parties will be picking candidates for various offices in that fall general election.
I will vote in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary to select the Republican ticket.
What a choice I have. I say this with sarcasm.
Many of the lower-level offices have no competition.
The high-profile Senate race leaves me to pick between a carpet-bagging celebrity who’s not in Kansas anymore, but did get a stunning endorsement from Donald Trump.
Other choices are a former hedge fund rich guy and a conservative black woman with some extreme views unlikely to play in a general election.
I will not vote for the Man from Oz. I’m not sure about the other two. Maybe I can just abstain, as I did more recently when the man they are seeking to replace, retiring Pat Toomey, lost my confidence by becoming a political eunuch, afraid to be true to his proclaimed conservative philosophy.
When it comes to the governor race, Republicans are likely to pick Doug Mastriano and so am I. The Democrats will, fittingly, usher forward without competition a state attorney general who helped make sure Biden carried Pennsylvania.
To sum it up, if you bet on the wisdom either of sports fans or the electorate, you’re going to be disappointed.
Sam Ross Jr's site 