Obama appears to be going after the ESPN male crowd

Just an observation I picked up recently.

The big question in the general election, should Obama get there, is the "battleground" Mountain West and will traditionally Democratic voting white males in the Midwest vote for Obama?


Well it appears, to me, that in order to offset possible losses in this area Obama's team is targeting the younger ESPN (just post "lad mag" Maxim/FHM) male crowd. Basically white guys just out of college or in their mid-20's.

Just something I have noticed in the recent lull of the campaign.

too

-I read an article several months ago in which a ESPN magazine writer and Obama played one-on-one (Obama won a shortened game)

-Just last week apparently Obama shot hoops with one of the major college teams (just caught that in passing)

-several of his teams' responses have struck me as being in this crowds' sense of humor or take on things.

-AS noted below this could just be a tie-in to March Madness :shrug:

It's hard to defend a left handed player one on one. Makes you kinda off-balance. That, combined with the jumpshot, is a pretty good combination.

I don't know why, but this is just really endearing to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYCEnVmNkpE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daH0ltD20A0

That's why, back in the day, I'd work on my ball handling with my left hand and practiced lefthanded lay-ups. Being able to switch to the left really took a lot of people out of their game. And after a few times playing against them, they never really knew where to defend.

Ah, now I'm old with bad knees and an arthritic spine so don't get to play much at all.

I could work the post, but I even had trouble driving to the basket with the left hand. Just uncoordinated.

But the sadder thing was that I'm 6'5 and was never able to dunk. :(

which took a lot of practice for me. It just seems counterintuitive to me physically. I played ball because I've got six brothers, the shortest of whom is 6'1" and four of whom are over 6'5". There was no way around it. They took sports very seriously and, not to sound sexist, they taught me to play like a boy. It didn't help that my dad was a former Marine DI and believed in toughening us up. (Just ask my husband who ouweighs me almost 2 to 1. He stopped playing basketball with me because I would run into him hard enough to knock him down.)


Beyond that I'm very uncoordinated. I have a short body but freakish long limbs. Except for the head, I'm built like a grey alient. My Levi's legs are 36" and I have trouble wearing women's clothing because most of the arms aren't long enough. My center of gravity is a too little high. Playing ball helped me a lot in developing something resembling coordination.

I hate getting dunked on. My brothers would do it to me whenever they could.

Defended a leftie is strange in that in order to block/defend the shot you have to use YOUR left hand-at least that was my experience. It is all about hips and turning shoulders ah what a beautiful game.

I played against this same guy no matter who chose teams. We were ALWAYS head to head. Quite a "duel"

I developed the ability to "go left" and dribble left but shooting? Nope never could get that to work. Leaping back and creating distance to square my shoulders was the substitute.

but it can be done. I used to practice for hours with visions of being the first woman to play in the NBA. Then came the reality that I lacked speed, grace, agility and strength. But, other than that I was pretty good. :eyes: I think I'd make a better coach than a player but even then I admit I miss a lot of nuances of the game.

Basketball is like ballet to me. When the players are working together in unison it is one of the most beautiful sports there is to watch and, if you're lucky enough, to be a part of. If I try to leap anywhere I usually end up twisting an ankle.

I could have made it to the CBA

I'm 5'8" in my bare feet. Unfortunately for me I've got two left feet, so to speak.

That a majority of pro-Obama posters, here and at Kos, write like 10th grade jocks behave.

:eyes: :eyes:

:hi:

although frankly, I think Hillary supporters write like frustrated wives who desperately need an outlet for their pent up rage.

;)

...before anyone dropped out, they were asked by some media outlet what their (the candidates)guilty pleasures were. Obama's was Sports Center - so I'm sure your observation is correct.

They were all in their 40s-upper 50s. I think it's safe to say in rural areas, major sports fans are not just younger voters. Think NASCAR crowds, hunters, long time jocks from farm communities.

Anyway, I don't think you can peg it on just the mid-20's crowd when you're talking about midwesterners (having been born, raised, educated and still live in the Midwest - I might know just a hint about that).

All my buddies still watch SportsCenter like it is the New York Times (so to speak) but by targeting the younger crowd you also get all sports fans basically. Maybe not directly win them over but at least get the "product" in front of them so they are familiar with it. And lets be honest-appealing to the yonger crowd makes old fogies like me (40y.o.) think it is the cool "hip" type thing which everyone wants to think they are at least still in touch with.

As we have seen with Rudy's campaign and Hillary's (in some ways) even if you aren't "selling" right now you still have to keep the name out there in everyone's mind. Think - retailers have to advertise year round even though their big score is at Christmas time.

...didn't mean to insult the older espn crowd - I know many.

I lived in Lawrence, Kansas until a few months ago. I was born in that town and I will return to it to die. I'm a fifth generation Jayhawk who grew up on both politics and sports.

When you grow up in a college town you realize that sports fans come in ages. I know a lot of people who don't pay attention to sports until the local college team does well. Last fall, a lot of my liberal/progressive buddies were scheduling meetings during football and basketball games. Naturally the attendance wasn't very high. As the football season progressed they finally listened to me and started scheduling meetings so that they didn't conflict with games. All of a sudden attendance from all age groups shot up. We even had friends bring their 18 - 21 year kids.

Over the years my husband and I have invited people over to watch games and afterward we would talk shop and strategize our political agenda. For example, after one basketball game back in 2004 we came up with the idea to hand out voter registration forms at the post office on tax day. We went further and got a committee to work on the differences between Bush's tax plan and Kerry's. We also got a few volunteers to show with petitions to get Dem candidates on the ballot that fall. In the end, we had our own little gauntlet. We'd hand out the tax plan sheet, then we'd hit them voter registration forms and then the petitions. That way, it helped us weed out the people who were eligible to sign the petitions.

Last year our early organizing meetings for "Step It Up" day were scheduled so that we got people over the house to watch sports and then we talked politics. Integrating sports and politics gets you a larger based to work with because there's a big cross over in politics.

The same strategy also works with pro teams. For example, we'd go to evlbstrd's house and watch the KC Chiefs and then have our DFA meetings right after the game was over. It's all about finding commonalities and exploiting them.

There are some times when it doesn't work though. A group of our friends went to the KU-K-State tailgate party in the parking lot before the game and were jeered. After that incident we found it was better to stick with our original plan and invite people to smaller gatherings.

You have to realize that people of all ages tune into ESPN because it is the place to hear the latest sports news. I'm a middle-aged woman who has been watching ESPN since it hit cable. I think Obama is tapping into that market and he's wise to do it.

Every weekend before a game - it was common place for even those "required" to wear a suit, to shed their outer formalities to dawn an OSU sweatshirt or golf jacket. When you ask little kids there, what they want to be when they grow up - the response is... "A Buckeye". :rofl:

I wasn't sure what I wanted to be professionally but I always knew I wanted to be a Jayhawker.

Whew, for a moment I thought you were going to question my fanhood. ;)

cuz a black man would never be interested in sports.

:sarcasm:

:shrug:

Spring Break isn't something I notice anymore...Guess that is what happens when you don't have kids. Although my traffic is better!

and when you posted it hit me- aside from what must be a MUCH needed break (all sides) getting that pic out ....well there was some reason they did that.


:shrug:

then she sent it to the news media.

These kids nowadays!

The morning either before or of his big speech he shot hoops with one of the teams. I noticed the mention on the MSM and that is where I first "got" this

and on camera just last week, making his final picks at 30,000ft above it all or whatever likely en route to another university gymnasium filled with cheering crowds so...there's that :thumbsup: It seems like months now since a DUer posted a youtube of BO as a star basketball player. March appears the natural follow through. Or is it lay-up? I should follow sports more closely :cry:

Young males are ga-ga for Obama.

I think it's not a fully tapped market, to be honest. He's got more votes there than I think anybody realizes.

Grrr... frigging underdogs.

just kidding, Mountaineer fans...

He was on the basketball team in high school.

It's possible that his references to sports are simply because he is actually a jock/sports fan.

#23
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYCEnVmNkpE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daH0ltD20A0

I didn;t realize there was old footage like that floating arond.

Maybe they ought to loop that on the cable nets too -- at least the points scored.

Of course, they could also use the muffed foul free throw instead.

the lacrosse crowd, not the ESPN crowd. My son and all his friends work for Obama. Some were simply precinct captains and others have paid positions and travel to each battleground state. All graduated from Colorado College last year. They're young, smart, highly motivated young men who want something better for America. They grew up listening to their parents complaining about Rove and Bush nad they don't want to live like that.
Yes the mountain west is in play, even Montana, as is hte midwest.

but it has faded away. Everyone knows it will be in play it is just not being talked about right now I guess.

it's not talked about more. I believe in the 50-state strategy but let's face it, it's gonna be a long time before Mississippi goes democratic. So the west and midwest are the goldmines that have to be gone after.
Oh yeah, my son and his friends would rather eat dirt that sit and watch ESPN. They're out actually playing sports or skiing or working or partying. So I just think it's the active young adult that has been courted. They go to lacrosse and hockey games when Colorado College or University of Denver are playing but that's the extent of their sports watching. And even that is mainly for the together factor. And the beer. :)

Anyway, I think your observation is a good one. I have to say I'm proud of the young ones who have gotten involved. They really put their hearts in everthing they do.

Obama is a young, athletic man. ESPN fans are used to articulate, intelligent African Americans on television. They will be comfortable with Obama. They may not like his politics and may not vote for him, but they won't buy into the "OMG! Jeremiah Wright is a scary black man" crapola. Anyone who can listen to Stephen A. Smith for 5 minutes will not be impressed by the Rev. Wright dustup.

My brother said to me "I hate to say this but he makes a lot of sense!!"

My borther isn't all that intune with blacks if you know what I mean

Good point about Smith and the ESPN crowd.

If you are only youngish man in the race, I would think that the ESPN crowd would be a natural demographic.

The choices are Granpa McCain (every young man respects their veteran granpa but not that doesn't mean you want to spend all your time with him) and Mrs. Clinton (who is the 10th Grade Trig teacher that everyone hated).

Just some of it.

Youth on the rise.

Oh I am sure they are to some extent but the NASCAR nation thing was mostly a Rove thing to create the illusion of a greater Bush base size-just like the evangelicals. It served the purpose of being the unseen, mystic number generators that make wild flips in vote totals from exit polls more plausible and seeing that they are GOD's PEOPLE and (insert derogatory nickname here) the national press had cover for not mentioning any of it basically that they don't know how to talk to or about these groups.

Illusion of size.

What a great way to cross party lines, too.

And I think it's pretty cool, the way Obama loves sports and plays a mean game of pick-up hoops.

MLB Opening Day - only 6 more days!!!

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play!

:-)

:-(

Care to give me a synopsis?

Makes a layup then misses a free throw. SHORT shorts


The other one is him hitting a impromptu 3 and CNN covering it

Gimme a fucking break.