Just another quick observation about a lesson from sports that applies to politics. No one in a hundred years would have thought the Super Bowl match up this year would pit the [my] Pittsburgh Steelers against the Arizona Cardinals. Just take a look at for 2008: not one of the analysts picked the Cardinals to even make the playoffs, and none predicted that the Steelers would make it to the AFC Championship game, let alone the Super Bowl. In fact, some predicted the Jaguars to win the AFC South (the Jags ended up going 5-11), and the vast majority picked the Seahawks to win the NFC West (their record was 4-12).
The big lesson here is that you never know. The experts and analysts can make all the predictions they want, but no one can truly predict the future. This is why every cycle we see . Indeed, sometimes being the underdog is a distinct advantage. So take this as a caution (or perhaps as a positive note), but remember that in the unpredictable worlds of politics or sports, you can never be 100% certain of any outcome (well, except that the Steelers will win the Super Bowl this weekend!).
Last 5 posts by Aaron Marks
- Onward and Upward: Building a Sustainable Majority - January 22nd, 2010
- Dear Young Voters: This Is What You Get When You Don't Vote - December 1st, 2009
- The Youth Vote and the 2009 Elections - November 6th, 2009
- The Best of the Post-2009 Election Spin - November 5th, 2009
- Introducing NextGenGOP Executive Director James Kane - October 20th, 2009