VP candidate Sarah Palin came to Philadelphia to drop the puck at a Flyers game. Seems like a natural fit, right? Hockey mom, hockey game, attended by some of the six-packiest of Joe Sixpacks?
But this was Philadelphia. If there's one thing Philly sports fans know, it's how to express disapproval. They pelted Santa Claus with snowballs, for cryin' out loud.
Flyers fan Gina was there:
The announcer introduced Palin seconds later, and the crowd errupted into angry boos. Some fans around me were on their feet, cupping their hands around their mouths to be sure their boos were heard above all the others. It lasted for minutes (throughout the puck drop), these deafening jeers that ordered Palin off the ice. I wondered aloud to Mike if they would broadcast this incident on the news, and when I got home, I immediately turned on the news and Googled “Palin booed at Flyers game” to get the story. Of course, most places got it wrong. On NBC10, Sports Reporter Via Sikahema mentioned Palin’s appearence at the game, but not the boos. There are some other reports that say Palin was booed at first, but then welcomed with polite applause. I am here to tell you this didn’t happen. She was booed feverishly by Flyers fans, and it was all loud and clear. In the clips that appear on YouTube and elsewhere, it seems that the music was turned up in the arena to drown out the fan reaction. Hmpf. We didn’t hear that in the Wachovia Center. What we did hear was a unified expression of disapproval for the VP candidate, gosh darn it (insert wink here).I'm of mixed feelings about this. I've got some juvenile glee at seeing Palin booed, of course. But then, I can't help but noticing her daughters with her, happily waving and smiling through the jeers. (Congrats to whoever coached them; the girls did great.) I can't say I like booing a mom in front of her kids. It's rude and it's mean.
Then again, Palin knows her favorability ratings across the country, and she knows that Obama is leading in Pennsylvania by double digits--likely much more in Philadelphia itself. And as a sports fan, surely she knows Philly's rep. So she had to know going in there was a decent likelihood of her getting booed, and brought the girls anyway. It turns out that kids are less effective human shields than one might think.
Ultimately, I think it's particularly significant that she's getting booed in a hockey arena, supposedly her place of strength. It's like hundreds of hockey moms and Joe Sixpacks are letting her know they're not with her. Unlike Palin, they have only one shot at expressing this on a national stage, and they took it.
You don't speak for me, they're saying. Stop putting words in my mouth.
Boo.
Rob
(Fun Fact: I'm also putting words in their mouths! It's easy and fun, and everyone can play.)
2 comments:
As long as the boos didn't turn into "Kill her!" or "Terrorist" or anything rude about her child, I'm satisfied. Boos are a form of political dissent to me.
I was sad to see her kids where there hearing the boos, but she is the one that put those kids front and center. And I don't mean by taking the job, I mean she has made them part of her campaign. I think she has intentionally been using them as shield. Which is crappy.
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