Brooklyn Dodger fans lived this and picked up the mantra, “wait ’till next year.” Before the Dodgers moved to LA, they had won National League Pennants in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953. They lost the World Series all five times to the New York Yankees. “Next year,” however, finally came in 1955 when the Dodgers “Boys of Summer” shot down the Bronx Bombers in the World Series.
I was not around during those days but I was around to see the Buffalo Bills lose four straight Super Bowls from 1991-1994. It is a sporting accomplishment to make it to a title game one time; but to get there four years in a row and come away empty handed all four times is sports hell. The Buffalo Bills are equivalent to the presidential aspirations of the Federalist Charles Pinckney and Democrat Adli Stevens. Both losing twice. Pinckney to Thomas Jefferson and Stevens to Dwight Eisenhower.
When it comes to sports I do not recall reading or hearing about either the Dodgers or the Bills refuting the scores saying some runs or points were not counted after the games had been played. The games were played by the rules and even despondent Dodger fans accepted the loss with the fateful incantation, almost as if they expected the loss, “wait ’till next year.”
By playing the game there is the acceptance you agree to the terms and conditions that somebody has got to lose. In politics today certain losers are willing to entertain any conspiratorial theory or legal efforts to overturn popular elections on perceived technicalities. Could you imagine the Buffalo Bills spending $3 million for a recount of the scoring in their 1991, 20-19 Super Bowl defeat to the New York Giants. It was a disheartening one-point loss but a loss just as much as their 1993, 52-17 pasting to the Dallas Cowboys. In both cases the games were played fairly and uncontested. There are 32 teams in the NFL. When the season is over there is only one real undisputed winner. In many ways it does not matter if you came in second or last.
Sports outcomes are usually not contested. Assigning blame, making excuses and criticizing the outcome, yes. Criticizing how a game is played, or the officiating, is an American tradition. It has to go back to the first time a batter turned around to an umpire and said that pitch was outside. Bitching about the call is a part of the game itself. You can disagree with the call; you can even rant and rave about it from the sidelines, or from the cheap seats; but most often the play stands. In most cases the ref or the ump will give you a few seconds to jaw at them. They will let you have your say so all the while turning a deaf ear to your complaint.
However, the game wants to get calls right. Sports have instituted replay procedures to properly challenge calls made on the field. And so, too, in voting. States have instituted protocols, legal safeguards and recounts to ensure votes are counted properly. Face it, nobody wants to win on a technicality (except maybe a desperate politician).
But getting too exuberant criticizing the officiating during a game by those playing or managing the game, is usually grounds for some sort of technical foul or worst ejection from playing field. And if it goes beyond the field, players and coaches can be fined, as was the case when Pittsburg Steeler Coach, Mike Tomlin, complained that the 14 penalty flags being thrown in their 41-17 victory against Atlanta in 2018 was a joke–and they were the winners!. The NFL, however, was not laughing. It flagged Tomlin and the Steelers $25,000 for his comments.
All of this is not to say that our sports are perfect. Take the legendary 1982 “Snow Plow Game” between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins. The game was played as a cliche on a tundra-like field during a snowstorm fit more for the Iditarod then a football game. Snow plows were used as an “emergency ground rule” to clear field yard markers to help officials.
The two teams battled each other and the elements slipping and sliding around like mules on ice. Neither team was able to score until New England had the ball with less than five minutes left in the game. With the ball inside the Dolphin’s 30 yardline the Patriots decided on a field goal try. As the Patriots field goal team trotted out, a snow plow driver joined them, clearing off the spot for the home team’s kicker. The 33-yard kick was good giving the Patriots a 3-0 victory and leaving Don Shula, the Dolphin’s coach, livid enough to melt ice.
Shula said that this was the “most unfair act ever perpetrated in NFL History.” At the time there was no rule saying this was an unfair move. The NFL has an “unfair act” that allows officials to overturn flagrant illegal plays. The beloved Commissioner of the NFL at the time, Pete Rozelle, had the authority to overturn the outcomes of games. In fact he agreed with Shula but basically said the Patriot’s did not break any rules.
Next year was different story as Shula made sure that the rules stated that “Under no circumstances will a Referee permit clearing by the grounds crew of a spot for a PAT or field goal attempt.
This brings us back to the recent presidential election and the wild attempts to overturn the popular vote in “swing states” on technicalities. The 2020 election had several unique difference from past elections. First, and foremost, is the pandemic. It has had an effect on everything we do and voting is no exception. And almost as contagious as the coronavirus is the current toxic political atmosphere is just as bad. It has created a win now or lose forever mentality. Now, every election is some sort of fait accompli. There appears to be no belief in wait ’till next year. This belief in no tomorrow motivated people to get out and cast ballots in record numbers.
To some, it was not voting but how you voted. In the time of pandemic a lot of people voted early and by mail. It was the safest way to vote. To others, it looked like early voters were adhering to the old Chicago Style of voting: vote early and often. It is believed that 65 percent of the 150 million voters voted early in the 2020 election. The Department of Homeland Security said the 2020 election “was the most secure in American History.” Even the “got your back” Attorney General said there was no proof of widespread fraud.
But then that DHS claim has not stopped more than three dozen lawsuits from those crying foul and pushing the mantra: “Stop the Steel.” This is more Hamlet than Hamilton as the “Lady doth protest too much.” Protesting too much can lead to a lack of credibility. Just look at Rudy Giuliani–he is the modern day boy who cried wolf . Is there any fraudulent claim he won’t shill?He has gone from America’s Mayor to carnival barker trying to get people to guess the Fat Lady’s weight.
It is one thing for a football team to go for the win with a two-point conversion at the end of the game and coming up short. It happens. At some point in the baseball world the Dodgers were going to beat the Yankees. Without a doubt Americans love a winner. And at times, we can even be sympathetic and compassionate to the defeated. But we cannot stand a poor loser. But as Danny O’Keefe sings: “Some gotta win, some gotta lose, good time Charlie’s got the blues…”
As far as the election goes, it is time to do as the British say: Play on.
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