Obama's NCAA picks part of presidential sporting tradition
Sure signs that spring is coming to the nation's capital: The cherry blossoms are about to bloom, and President Obama is doing his NCAA brackets.
Obama's picks for the men's and women's college basketball tournaments are part of an old political exercise, the desire of presidents and candidates to associate themselves with popular sports.
"Presidents like to bask in the reflected glory of nationally or internationally known athletes," writes Kenneth Walsh in Celebrity-in-Chief: A History of the Presidents and the Culture of Stardom. "By tapping into sports, they also demonstrate their connections to pop culture, with a special goal of appealing to the fans."
The current president is expected to sit down with ESPN on Tuesday to make his game-by-game predictions for the college hoops tournaments, just as he has done throughout his presidency. The men's tourney this year starts Tuesday night; women's teams tip off on Friday.
Presidents have engaged with sports since the rise of organized athletics. President Theodore Roosevelt is credited with saving college football in the early 20th century, pushing officials to adopt new safety rules after a rash of deaths on the field. (A century later, Obama would also call for more safety in football, amid concern about head trauma injuries.)
Roosevelt's successor, William Howard Taft, began another presidential tradition by throwing out the first pitch of the baseball season in 1910. His successor, Woodrow Wilson, also loved baseball, and became the first president to attend a World Series game in 1915. (Decades later, President George W. Bush, a part-owner of the Texas Rangers before entering politics, did several baseball-themed events in the White House.)
President Dwight Eisenhower (1953-61) is credited with elevating the popularity of another sport: golf. Ike -- who hit the links much more than any other president -- also helped raise the profile of the Augusta National Golf Club and its signature tournament, The Masters. These days, Obama -- his basketball days largely behind him -- has become an avid golfer.
The tenure of President Richard Nixon, 1969-74, coincides with the rapid rise in popularity of professional football. Nixon loved talking football with then-Washington Redskins Coach George Allen, and is credited -- or blamed -- for suggesting a Redskins' play during a big game, though that claim has been disputed.
Not unlike Obama, Democratic predecessor Bill Clinton also enjoyed golf and college basketball. In 1994, the former governor of Arkansas got the thrill of a lifetime for any college hoops fan. He watched one of his teams, the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, claim the national title with a win over Duke.
Obama, like many of his predecessors, also welcomes many sports champions to the White House, a practice that some historians date back to President Andrew Johnson (1865-69), who had baseball teams over to the executive mansion.
In his book, Walsh writes that presidents associate themselves with sports "to connect with popular culture, and to enhance their own celebrity." There's also a matter of "personal interest," he notes, adding that "it's remarkable how many presidents have had backgrounds in sports and athletics."
There seems a natural affinity between political people and athletes. Both have an intense interest in competition, with definitive standards for victories and losses. Many rely on statistics to aid their efforts and gauge their progress.
When it comes to this year's college basketball tournaments, it will be interesting to see if Obama follows conventional wisdom or gambles on underdogs. Kentucky is a huge favorite in the men's tournament, Connecticut in the women's.
Following college basketball is also a good way for politicians -- and aspiring presidents -- to get to know the country.
Prospective presidential candidates would be well served to know that one of the smallest schools in the men's field -- Wofford -- is located in Spartanburg, S.C., site of a key early primary. Or that Iowa -- home of the caucuses, the first contest for presidential aspirants -- is sending three teams to the men's tournament: The University of Iowa, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa.
Northern Iowa is the smallest of those schools, but scored one of the biggest tournament upsets of recent years. The Panthers' 69-67 defeat of highly-ranked Kansas in 2010 busted many a tournament bracket, including that of one President Barack H. Obama.