Debates and Sports Analogy

There's not much left for me to learn about the candidates.  Certainly nothing that can possibly change my vote.  So why bother watching the second Obama/Romney debate?

As a Colts fan, I think I'll use them as the analogy.  Suppose the debates are the playoffs, and November 6th is the Super Bowl.  But in this case, the 3 playoff games (4 if you count the VP debate) are more like the NBA Finals, where the same two teams square off against each other.

Going back to the Colts' Super Bowl era with Peyton Manning, I'll have them represent Romney.  The New England Patriots, who were the Colts' nemesis in those days, represent Obama.

Going into the playoffs, the Colts were the underdog.  They have a suspect defense, but still have hope because of the skills of Manning.  But they've got lots of other factors working against them.  The "cool" people (Northeastern urban folks) love the Pats, as do all the Television commentators.  The playoff game pulls Vegas odds something like Pats +3.

Also, it's well known that the referee is a "homer" for the Patriots, and nobody expects the game to be called fairly for the Colts.

So the debate itself is analogous to the second playoff game.  The first game was a blowout for the Colts, and the talking heads are still expressing shock that Peyton was able to hit Reggie Wayne for 4 touchdowns.  But they don't credit Peyton for the great game; instead they've been piling on Tom Brady for a sub-par performance.  No matter that Brady had a very good game himself, throwing for over 300 yards - he's been squarely blamed by the big media pundits for the loss.  They cite his 2 late-game interceptions and an impression that he just gave up in the last five minutes.

So everybody says game 2 is going to be different.  Brady's promising to be more aggressive against the below-average Colts defense this time.  And Manning's surely not going to get so lucky as to have two stellar games in a row, right?

The referee has also been warned.  There had better be more flags thrown against the Colts this time! Patriots fans don't believe it's possible for a team to score as much as the Colts did without cheating; therefore, there have to be lots of penalties the referee missed the first time!

Patriot fans are hoping for a drubbing of the Colts in game 2.  They firmly believe the game 1 outcome was a fluke.  Colts fans from the heartland and the countryside believe their team is better, and will tune into game 2 hoping to see that faith justified.

A victory by the Colts will give them momentum that could mean almost certain victory in the Super Bowl.  But a Patriots victory will mean the outcome of the Super Bowl is much less certain, and of course the "experts" will immediately jump in to tell all the fans their favorite team from the big market is a sure thing.

So will the Colts' quarterback (Romney) have another great game, or will the Patriots' quarterback (Obama) return to his expected form and shred the weak Colts' defense (GOP Establishment) to set the Patriots up for a strong Super Bowl?

Will the referee (Candy Crowley) succeed in managing the game with timely Colts penalties and ignoring Pats penalties to help guarantee a Patriot victory?

That's why folks like me might still watch.