Nationalism is a driving force in most countries, especially when it comes to sports. Did you see how popular the United States Women's National Soccer team was in America as the began the journey to win the Women's World Cup?
That sentiment also carries through to our colleges. I've never seen people as animated by sporting events when it comes to their alma mater's playing. Just check out the Twitterverse during the college football season. It turns friends and family members into enemies over night, but after the game is over, the hostility subsides and everything goes back to normal.
You'd have to be pretty sick to let a college game destroy a relationship. And not one person will ever be offended if you support your alma mater because they understand how those things work. I've written many times about how important it is for a politician to know about sports, if they are going to discuss them. Remember when Martha Coakley, was made to look foolish when discussing Curt Schilling on the radio because she identified him as a Yankee fan, that she became a butt of jokes in Boston and ultimately lost to Scott Brown?
Unfortunately for Carly Fiorina, she made a complete fool of herself as well for pandering to the Republican Iowa caucus as her alma mater, Stanford was set to play Iowa in the Rose Bowl. As Mediaite noted:
the Iowa caucus is only one month away, not to mention a highly-anticipated Fox News debate from Des Moines at the end of January. Guess who Fiorina tossed her weight behind?
Love my alma mater, but rooting for a Hawkeyes win today. #RoseBowl
— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 1, 2016
Really, Carly? Why on earth would you root for Iowa? OK, we all understand. I hope Stanford University makes her persona non grata for all time because of her egregious offense.
No one in Iowa would have held it against her if she rooted for her own college to win in the Rose Bowl. In fact, they are probably as horrified by this display of disloyalty by her as students from Stanford are.
If she so easily would throw her own alma mater under the bus in such an obvious fashion, how could anyone trust her to keep her word or her dignity intact if she were to gain any influence?
