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Et Tu, White Sox?

By: Dan McLaughlin (Diary)  |  January 27th, 2009 at 06:40 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Obama SoxThere’s a long tradition of your basic ceremonial honors between the White House and the National Pastime, all of which is well and good even during times when you may not like the current occupant of the Oval Office. But really, does the game need to do this?

The Chicago White Sox are aiming to release a President Barack Obama-themed version of their cap in time for the start of spring training.

The club has developed two prototype designs of its club hat with Obama marks on the side and back. The hats have been approved by MLB Properties, and the White Sox now are awaiting a formal blessing from the Obama administration before league licensee New Era goes into production. Both designs will be made if accepted by Obama.

Even for those of us who love baseball and love politics, it’s better to keep the two separate. It’s bad enough that Obama* is being merchandised like he’s the latest George Lucas character (I swear some of the newspapers are only staving off bankruptcy by selling Obama commemorative memorabilia to his fans), and that businesses all over the place seem completely unaware of the fact that 59 million Americans voted against the guy – but to go and stick Obama logos on the hats of an MLB team is going too far. It would have been cheesy for the Rangers to do that for Bush even though he used to own the team; it’s no different with Obama.

* – Kung fu grip not available on all models. Batteries sold separately.

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COMMENTS

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  • mikefisk

    …if the Sox wear Obama caps, does that mean they can work an arrangement with ACORN to give them an extra two dozen people out in the field if they’re behind?

    • bs
  • E Pluribus Unum

    I thought it would never happen. Another team has supplanted the New York Yankees in the MLB category of my ‘I hate you more than I hate anything else on the planet’ club.

    • Dan McLaughlin

      and had their players escape indictment when their signed confessions mysteriously disappeared from the Cook County Courthouse.

      • E Pluribus Unum

        of being my 29th favorite club (IIRC there are 30 MLB clubs).

    • Belle

      nt

    • Belle

      nt

  • jdub19

    our pal BlackRepub is seriously considering becoming a Cubs fan!!! :P

  • Cheetah772

    Come on, be brave and join Packers fan club….it CAN’T hurt you, right?

    Just kidding…

    • E Pluribus Unum

      We have one of those in our office. He’s a long way from home, and post-Favre CheeseLand has not been a happy place.

      But at least they don’t have freaking Obama-gear.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane
    • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane
      • Dan McLaughlin

        but that does not mean the White Sox have to be Obama fans. Heck, Bush used to own the Texas Rangers. They didn’t put W logos on their hats.

        • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

          He didn’t cave with the Cubs/Sox thing. Hey, you’re from New York; tell me that Rudy and Hillary haven’t made you roll your eyes on this subject…

  • E Pluribus Unum

    then I won’t wear the gear, or they can trade or cut me.

  • bobojake

    Let me see how about watching T-ball this year with your grand kids.

  • Crowe

    ..of how the NFL is sooooo much better at the marketing thing than MLB. There is NO WAY the NFL would allow any of its teams to get embroiled in something like this. But that’s Bud Selig’s MLB: anything cheap, crass, divisive, and/or contrary to tradition to make a buck.

    • red4ever

      Rooney is a HUGE Obama supporter. Gave a ton of money, etc. Now the President, instead of being impartial about the outcome of the Super Bowl has said he is rooting for the Steelers.

      The NFL overlooked the Rooney involvement in gambling for several years. I doubt the NFL will rein them in over politicizing the Steelers.

      • http://conservative-and-proud.blogspot.com/ eschristian

        Arizona – my mom said their coach was a really good guy – I forgot, she told me a good story about him??? I don’t really follow the NFL except at the end of the season. I am a huge college football fan.

      • Crowe

        …then your point will cease to be a non sequitur.

        Read again, and see that the point I actually made was not what you responded to.

        • red4ever

          but, you did say the NFL would never allow this. I pointed out that I could see the Steelers doing it and the NFL looking the other way based on their past treatment of the owner.

          • Crowe

            The NFL and MLB are very different organizations. It doesn’t matter what the Rooneys think because the Steelers’ uniforms are the property not of the Rooney family but of the NFL. The NFL keeps very, very tight control of its image, especially on-field uniforms, emblems, demonstrations, insignia, etc. Any change whatsoever to a uniform would have to be approved of by the central office. Remember when Johnny Unitas died and Payton Manning wanted to wear black shoes for one game in his honor? NFL wouldn’t allow it because the Colts uniform includes white shoes. Period. End of discussion. If they’re that strict about something as honorable and innocuous as a current superstar paying tribute to a past legend and personal hero, there is no way at all that they would allow something so politically charged and divisive as the Sacred O on any uniform. Another case. When Jerry Jones signed a contract with Nike he intended to put the Nike swoosh all over Texas Stadium and all over the new Texas Stadium — then in the planning phases. The NFL stepped in and nixed it because that sort of sponsorship contract had to go through their offices and it hadn’t. I can’t remember if Jones had to get out of the contract all together or just renegotiate to reduce the prominence of the swoosh, but the message was the same: we, the NFL, own the image rights to your team. We license it, we control it. If you would like a change, it must go through our channels.

            MLB has always been far more decentralized than the NFL, and far more stupid. It’s only because baseball is the most transcendent sport, preferred of God, and played in heaven by the saints and angels that it survives, because the demons who run the teams have been trying to destroy it from within (as they do all good institutions) since 1903.

            Now do you see how your comment was a non sequitur?

  • Aaron Gardner

    The White Sox are exempt from MLB steroids testing…;^)

    • Crowe

      And the awarding of the 1919 World Series to the Pale Hose, since they should have won it.

  • smagar

    …but I’m over it now!

  • JamesLBurns

    At what point does this type of thing become a campaign finance issue. A corporation cannot donate to the campaign. I presume a corporation cannot avodi that by printing up 20,000 yard signs. So how can putting the candidate’s logo on their uniform be permitted? Even if it’s just on caps sold to the public it seems problematic to me.

    Of course, it seems that the campaign finance laws don’t actuallyl apply to Obama, so maybe the concern is moot.

  • bc3

    What has 80,000 arms and legs, 23 teth and an IQ of 41? A sell-out at a White Sox home game.

    The Brooklyn Cyclones (the Mets Class A farm team has a neat one day promotion. They are renaming the team the Baracklyn Cyclones for the evening. You can get a stimulus (discount) by purchasing your tickets early. If your name is barack or Obama or a plumber named Joe, you get a free ticket (ID and business card required. Reach across the aisle – anyone named McCain or Palin gets a free bleacher seat (ID required). Universal health care – first 1,000 people get a free bandage.

  • furious

    …when at halftime of Boston-Dallas they aired a feature on what the Obama presidenc means to Lebron James. Yaw-aw-awwwn. Click.

  • Tbone

    I already got “Obama marks” on the seat of my jockey shorts.

  • Tbone

    I already got “Obama marks” on the seat of my jockey shorts.

  • andysmith

    Lifelong White Sox fan here. Needless to say, I’m very disappointed.