The Republican convention turned Paul Ryan into a terrible sports fan
House Speaker Paul Ryan poses with Michael McMullen, of Gibsonia, Pa., during a breakfast with Pennsylvania delegates Monday. (Evan Vucci/AP)
CLEVELAND — The instances of politicians dabbling in sports and not embarrassing themselves form a rather short list, and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s actions at the Republican National Convention are certainly not on it.
As the chairman of the convention, Ryan is making the rounds visiting the various state delegations. One of his tactics to connect with the groups is by forging bonds via sports fandom. In doing so, Ryan is exposing a giant misunderstanding of how those fans — as partisan as any political body — actually interact.
On Monday, he visited the Pennsylvania delegation and waved a Terrible Towel, the preferred tool of Pittsburgh Steeler fans everywhere. Here he is in action:
House speaker Paul Ryan arrives to address @PAGOP and devoted #Packers fan twirls #Steelers "Terrible Towel" #WTAE pic.twitter.com/Uw8SCfKhIs
— Andrew Stockey (@astockeyWTAE) July 18, 2016
This is wrong for a few reasons, as our colleagues at Yahoo Sports addressed. First, Ryan, a Wisconsin native, is a Packers fan. Second, the Pennsylvania delegation contains Eagles fans, who certainly would not be impressed by the bright yellow accessory. Third, the meeting took place in Cleveland, home of the Browns, whose fans might hate the Steelers more than they love their own team.
Things got worse on Tuesday. Addressing the Texas delegation, Ryan attempted to make a connection between college football and national politics. “When you advance to a national championship don’t you root for a Longhorn if you’re an Aggie?” said Ryan, according to Jonathan Tilove of the Austin Statesman. “Start thinking that way.” Ryan was alluding to the fact that even though the Republican primary had been contentious, it was time to begin rallying around the nominee. He did so by suggesting that the college sports rivals who may hate each other the most might actually get along.
No. That is not how it works at all. The Texas/Texas A&M relationship is so contentious that the two teams stopped playing in 2011 after the Aggies jumped from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC. The A&M fight song literally includes the lyrics “So goodbye to Texas University, so long to the orange and the white,” referencing the colors of the Longhorns. A&M fans use the term “Saw them off,” referring to severing the horns of the Texas mascot. The Twitter account of the SB Nation Aggie fan site Good Bull Hunting said “No way in hell” in regards to Ryan’s comments.
The hatred is not one-sided. NBC News senior political editor and Longhorns fan Mark Murray gave the statement that he wouldn’t be caught dead rooting for the Aggies a PolitiFact rating of true. DSCC communications director/Texas fan Sadie Weiner told Yahoo News that she wouldn’t root for the Aggies, adding, “Paul Ryan’s weak attempt at justifying his support for Trump reveals that he doesn’t understand college football and, more importantly, doesn’t understand the devastating impact a Trump presidency would have on America. Also, Hook ’em Horns.”
Ryan is not the only person in this election cycle to look bad pandering. In January, Carly Fiorina, a Stanford graduate, said she was supporting Iowa over her alma mater in the Rose Bowl in an attempt to curry favor in advance of the state’s caucuses. Iowa lost 45-16 and Fiorina finished seventh in the caucuses. Fiorina later said the comment was tongue-in-cheek, but the damage was already done. The man who named Fiorina as his running mate a few months later, Sen. Ted Cruz, drew ridicule for referring to a basketball hoop as a “basketball ring.” _____
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