Every time I hear such a story I can’t help but wonder how it is that the fans will go so far to defend their team (brand) but yet not seem to be concerned with the political developments in their country. Even in this country, Yankees and Red Sox fans will allow the rivalry turn into violence at the drop of a hat, yet will do little more than complain at the bar when it comes to the political injustices of the day. I’ve always found it odd is that, in the midst of this fierce brand loyalty in sports, the players of these passionately defended teams are only too eager to switch sides should the right contract opportunity arise. Another team will pay me more? See ya later. Their loyalty is to their career and to the game, not the particular logo they wear on their chest.

And so it is with politics, isn’t it? The “fans” tend to be the most unruly and loyal to the brand (conservatism or liberalism) while the players – our elected representatives and leaders – play to win the PR battles day by day, talk a good game about how their team is the best, convince that it is their life’s calling to live up to their party’s principles, but will give up their principles at the drop of a hat if it means something for them. Remember the Terri Shiavo case? How many Republicans sold out conservatism like never before when they lined up to defend the government’s right to dictate the most personal of family decisions. The trophy at stake was re-election and securing a Republican majority in the Congress. Little did they know that the public was on the other side of the issue, and found their display despicable.

And on the other side of the aisle, one can’t forget the Democrats who sided with President Bush in the decision to invade Iraq. What a spectacle it was to see Democrats lining up out of fear that they would be portrayed as wimpy liberals who were putting the country at risk. It was not until the war started going sour that they started to come back, and not until a year or so ago that some of the top brass in the party started to distance themselves from the decision to use torture techniques on terrorism suspects.

This week, the analogy is a bit more consistent with sports. Arlen Specter, the Senator from Pennsylvannia, is now a Democrat… again. Yes, he was a Democrat as a young District Attorney, then switched parties after winning as a Democrat on the Republican ticket. Now he is switching back to Democrat because polls indicate that he could not survive a challenge in the next Republican primary. He is known as a moderate in the sense that he’s conservative on some issues and liberal on others. Seems to me like Specter has always been a Designated Hitter of sorts, and now he’s up at bat for a whole new team entirely.

But who can blame Specter? His party is in pieces. The Republicans have nowhere to go and no one leading them. The loudest voices tend to be the most out-of-the-mainstream. Its like a baseball team getting its ass kicked and the coach starts screaming at the top of his lungs at the end of the 9th inning. And the Democrats are only too happy to have him because it will make the next stretch of games that much easier to win.

The fans, on the other hand, will have none of the disloyalty. Whenever the NJ Devils play the NY Rangers, the Devils’ fans start booing whenever Devil-turned-Ranger Scott Gomez touches the puck. A great talent crossed over to the other side, and there is no sympathy for the man whenever he gets cross checked into oblivion.

In the world of politics, it is the same thing. If you want to hear the equivalent of those Devils’ fans in the political arena, just turn on talk radio. They are absolutely hysterical. It is as if Specter burned the American flag in his DC office and pledged to join the Taliban. They take it seriously, whereas our politicians approach the job as a game of sorts.