Well, well, well – look who’s trying to crash the party! Over at The Nation, sports editor Dave Zirin is fretting about the Democrats’ attempt to cozy up to football, specifically Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s former role as an assistant football coach. Apparently, Zirin thinks this embrace of America’s favorite sport is a strategic misfire, all because football is supposedly too toxic, too masculine, and too, well, football-y for the delicate sensibilities of young left-wing voters.
Zirin warns of the “dark” side of football – concussions and all that testosterone – and suggests that the sport’s hypermasculinity could send young Democratic voters running for the hills. These are the same voters who are laser-focused on climate change, Palestine, and dismantling capitalism, of course.
Football, according to Zirin, is too rough, too rooted in traditional Americana, and too emblematic of teamwork and competition to fit comfortably within the progressive agenda. Apparently, tossing a football in the air might as well be a declaration of war against woke culture.
What’s hilarious is Zirin’s claim that the Democrats have somehow “claimed” football from conservatives, as if the sport is some cultural artifact up for grabs. He suggests this move is leaving conservatives “confused” and “rattled,” like we’re all sitting around scratching our heads because the Democrats have suddenly discovered a pigskin and declared it their own.
Really? They think slapping some campaign slogans on football metaphors will make Republicans quiver? Come on. Football has been America’s sport long before the Democrats decided to dust it off and use it as a campaign prop.
The Democratic Party is presenting football as a symbol of the kind of teamwork needed to take down Donald Trump, argues @EdgeofSports. The embrace of football is rattling conservatives, but it may cost Democrats young progressive voters.https://t.co/2WSs0snLln
— The Nation (@thenation) August 26, 2024
The deeper irony here is the desperate cultural appropriation at play. One minute, the left is decrying football as barbaric, dangerous, and filled with toxic masculinity; the next, they’re waving it around as some kind of unifying national symbol. This is the same party that, at its convention, tried to hijack country music, patriotism, and border security – all things they’ve mocked and vilified for years.
Now, suddenly, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are leading the charge with football helmets, camouflage hats, and chants of “USA, USA!” Who knew patriotism and football were back in vogue with the Democratic elite?
The real kicker (pun intended) is how this transparent pandering plays out. Tim Walz, an avid hunter, and his camouflage merch are now being paraded as evidence that the Democrats understand rural, Southern voters.
But, let’s be honest: seeing Kamala Harris’s stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, strutting around in camo is about as convincing as seeing a fish ride a bicycle. It’s a gimmick, plain and simple. Rolling Stone might think this is a bold reclamation of rural identity, but in reality, it’s nothing more than another political costume change.
Ella Emhoff is about to be all of us this fall in that coveted Harris/Walz camo hat pic.twitter.com/xWK1lOtv7I
— Nate Morris 🥥🌴 (@_natemorris) August 20, 2024
In true Democrat fashion, this sudden embrace of football, hunting, and patriotism looks like another calculated attempt to tick off boxes on a list, not a genuine understanding of what these things mean to Americans. It’s all about optics, not authenticity. And while they’re busy playing dress-up in cowboy hats and football jerseys, it’s clear to anyone paying attention that it’s all hat, no cattle.
