Biden & Buckeyes

I saw on CNN that Biden claims that the University of Delaware will beat Ohio State. Given the thrashing that OSU took recently, that seems likely. Biden is a graduate of Delaware. I graduated from Ohio State.

An article on the CNN web site seems to try to convery that his remarks (given at his old school) were a serious political mistake. On one hand, they might be right. After all, politics is primarily a matter of emotion. If his support for his old school annoys OSU football fans, they might become upset to vote against him in a couple months. While that might seem irrational, people seem to often vote in irrational ways.

On the other hand, it seems ridiculous that an OSU fan would fault him for supporting his old school. After all, that is what people do. A politican should, just like anyone else, have the right to be a fan of his old school. Being a fan sometimes means talking smack against opposing teams. That is the way sports is-it is all part of the game. I think most fans know this. Actually, supporting his team might actually help him a bit-no one likes a fake fan who just cheers for a team to make people around him (or her) happy. Talking smack is something sports fans can, in general, respect. They obviously don’t like it against their team, but as long as someone isn’t too big of a jerk, it usually isn’t taken personally. I lived in Ohio for eight years, so I have a reasonable good idea how this works in the Buckeye State. So, it seems likely that the media is once again trying to whip up controvery where none really exists.

On a personal note: “Biden, Ohio State is going to kick Delaware’s ass. You can take that to what’s left of the banks.”