The Intersection of Sports and Politics

The Senator and I in my "official" Senate photo during my internship.

I had the honor of interning for Senator Arlen Specter in the spring of 2008. It was the only internship on the Hill that I applied for. He had been my political idol for years. I admired his politics and his ability to tick members of both parties off simultaneously.

I have great memories from my time in his D.C. Senate office, but perhaps my best one brought together my two loves: sports and politics.

The Boss, as he was referred to in office parlance, loved Philadelphia sports. After his Senate primary defeat in 2010, he could often be found behind home plate at the Phillies games. And, like most who call Philly home, he was a huge Eagles fan.

Where most people not living in D.C. would have been in a tizzy over a glimpse of any of a handful of the powerful people that were in the Senate at the time (Sens. Kennedy, McCain, and Obama, whose office was right down the hall, just to name a few), it was more exciting to see what non-politician would walk through the door on any given day.

In 2008, Spygate was at its height, and Sen. Specter was the Ranking Member of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee. For those that aren't sure what the Judiciary Committee has to do with Bill Belichik recording his opponents, it's convoluted, but it has to do with NFL anti-trust exemptions.

Spygate had been in the news for a while and was still one of the major sports stories, especially since the Patriots had been denied their bid for an undefeated season with a loss in the Super Bowl to the Giants. There had been rumblings of the possibility of a meeting between the Boss and the Commissioner since his appearance on ESPN's "Outside the Lines, " but, as a lowly intern, you often had no idea what the next day would bring, much less the probability of such a high-profile meeting.


The craziness outside of the office (Thanks Amy Fetherolf!)

The Senate office, was located in the newest of the Senate Buildings, which meant it had two stories with at least one part of the office overlooking the hallway leading up to the front door on the lower level. I spent most of my time on the top floor so, at first I didn't notice the unusual number of people with cameras waiting in the hall. There was, however, a noticeable buzz about the office, and it didn't take overly long to guess what was happening.

There was some jockeying among the interns that were working as to who was going to get to go downstairs and answer phones so they would be front and center when the Commissioner walked in. Needless to say, I lost to the intern (who shall remain nameless) who was notorious for doing little work and ticking everyone off. So, along with the others who were relegated to the top floor, we took turns peeking out the window that allowed us to see the goings-on downstairs.

It was the opportunity of a lifetime. Who else can say they saw Ed Werder recording a statement from outside their office?

The memory is as vivid today as it was 4 years ago when it happened.

The world lost a passionate fighter today. He will be missed.

A Win At The Line of Scrimmage

It's arguable whether Florida vs. LSU is a rivalry. UF has its share of hated traditional rivals: Georgia, Florida State, and even Tennessee, but no two teams have played more important games in recent memory.

One of my most vivid memories from my Freshman year of college is the famous "jump pass" game. I remember standing on the fifth row in the stadium and seeing Tebow charge toward the line of scrimmage. All of a sudden he stops and the ball is suddenly falling like a popped balloon. For 2.5 seconds, there was complete confusion while 89,000 people tried to figure what the heck had happened. When Tate Casey fell on his backside in the very back of the endzone clutching the ball, the stadium erupted. It was the beginning of Tebow's magical career at Florida.

This game was nothing like that one, and yet they were the similar. Comparatively speaking, the 2006 showdown was an offensive explosion with 33 combined points scored. This year, a touchdown would have been enough to win the game. The 2012 game saw two relatively unproven quarterbacks struggle for much of the game. The 2006 match up had two veteran starting quarterbacks (Chris Leak and JaMarcus Russell).  This year, like that game 6 years ago, had a second year head coach leading the Gators and a running back that got better as the game went on.

But, like most contests in the SEC, the game came down to defense. Even the years that Florida's offense was reduced to a whole lotta suck, our defense was good. This game, they weren't just good, they were great. The line was dominant and the secondary was virtually perfect (with the exception of a 2nd half pass that turned into a Matt Elam strip and UF fumble recovery).

Now, am I saying that the LSU offense was a juggernaut? No. Quite the opposite, but when the #3 team in the country comes to call and you control the line of scrimmage, it's a huge win.

Florida may not be Alabama-good, but this team has the potential to win the East and compete to win a higher prize.