brianleport.com

I like watching ESPN. I like seeing athletes face off in competition in games such as football, baseball, basketball, and futbol. While there is something very barbaric about men settling their differences by slamming into each other over a ball while wearing outfits that create a us-against-you mentality, there is sometimes something much more sophisticated about it than what I have seen on the news about this years, and previous, Presidential campaigns.

I think athletes facing off head to head, grunting, kicking, and punching is more sophisticated than running ads, leaking memos, and sometimes down right lying about each other. I understand head-to-head debates help make these campaigns a tad more accountable, but not like say football or baseball. If you talk trash you actually have to back it up the next week. And while talking heads comment on sports, they don’t determine who wins. The teams and the players do. There is something about actually facing off with your opponent in a do-or-don’t match.

Thus far the debates fall short of this ideal. Yes, it is one on one. But I notice that the candidates talk to the moderator more than to each other. Imagine in athletes paid more attention to the referee or umpire?