Sports & Politics for Some. Politics = Sports for Me

Professional basketball and baseball were my All-American go to sports. In fact, there was a time in my life when I was totally tuned in to the NBA schedule. I knew the team’s standings, and I would consistently watch many games – more basketball than baseball.   

My dad used to watch basketball and football games in the den, and he was always rooting for someone – typically the most southern, nee country players. If you were from the south or went to school in the south in places like Arkansas, Alabama or Mississippi, you were in!   

I was once a diehard Knicks fan. I especially loved them when Jeff Van Gundy was coach, Charles Oakley and John Starks were on the team, when game 7 was interrupted by OJ’s slow speed chase. Side note: the only time I ever fanned out was that time I saw Charles Oakley at the Café Wha? Bleecker & 3^rd - Funk Night. 

Before my neighborhood was wired for cable, I used to go to my friend Shawna’s house in Parkchester, “just so I could see the Knicks play basketball.” I confess that I am no longer even moderately invested and excited about professional sports in general. Heck, I even remember being in 7^th grade and watching the Indiana Pacers in a playoff game that went triple overtime. Further confirmation of my long love of the game.  

As much as I enjoyed basketball, I began my one woman boycott in 2003. It was at that point, sitting on my high-horse, I decided the game had become too commercial, and at the same time, the fundamentals of those playing the game seemed lacking. On commercialism, it struck me that we were now in an era where you had to have a cable television subscription if you wanted to see the NBA All Star Game. I remembered watching the All Star Game on ABC. And regular season games, albeit local, on the big 3 networks. Remember the NBA theme song?  “You see the best of basketball when you watch the NBA, when you watch the NBA on CBS…”  

At that time, it also seemed to me that there was an “I” in team. Too many players appeared to be playing for the highlight reel, which bothered me. It wasn’t easy to teach the game when there were so few screens set and dunks attempted and made.   

I learned everything I needed to know about baseball from my Uncle George. It wasn’t until I had a conversation with a colleague that I realized just how much I knew not only about the game, but the players. As a Yankee fan I sat in the free Con Edison bleacher seats at the old Yankee Stadium, where I fondly recall that game when I yelled, “Loooooou,” and you know who turned around? Yep, Lou Piniella! The last live Yankee game I attended was courtesy of a now former season ticket holder Marshall Goldberg. He had seats right behind home plate. I was able to go to 2 playoff games with my brother Bobby, who would succumb to lung cancer two (2) months later. Speaking of baseball, remember the Phenom that was Mark “The Bird” Fidrych?” Any way…  

I was never a football fan, but my friend Sonya taught me the basics one Saturday at a Cornell University football game. She convinced me to go to a game because “my people,” Londell and Aaron were playing. That knowledge carried me through a couple of my Godson’s high school football games. Later, I would go on to watch snippets of NFL games. I decided to commit to watching both the commercials and Super Bowl XL. That was the last football game that I watched. I am no ace referee, but I remember yelling “that was no touchdown,” and thus my interest in football was forever quashed.   

In light of all of the incessant coverage from the overkill that is the main stream and cable television, to comments on social media about this year’s presidential election, I am struck by the passion that Americans have for their political parties and their candidates.  This has led me to conclude that politics and sports aren’t very different. Not much at all. The zeal many sports fanatics display for their favorite sports teams is not very different from that of the politicians and political parties they support.   

Think about it... 

Professional sports teams have salaried athletes/players. Political parties have salaried elected officials and politicians.  

Professional sports teams have paid staff. Political parties have paid staff.  

Professional sports teams have colors, logos and mascots. Political parties have colors, logos and mascots.  

Professional sports teams have patrons and fans. Political parties have donors and supporters.

Professional sports teams don't hand out membership cards. Political parties don't hand out membership cards.

Professional sports teams want you to and encourage you to root for them.
Political parties want you to and encourage you to vote for them.

My friend Phyllis and I have long been political junkies. We have been friends since 1989. The first “campaign” we bonded over was “Dinkins for Mayor.”  At the time, we both worked for the same labor union. She was in the communications department, and I worked in the legislation and politics department. In addition to our work at the union, Phyllis volunteered for Dinkins in Brooklyn.  

In the years since, we have spent many an evening through night – even into the next morning watching election coverage, and commentating.   

·       The two of us, along with another friend stayed on the phone on election night 2000. From 9:00pm until about 6 the next morning. We were fascinated by the coverage. Al Gore was coming out to concede, but he didn’t. George W. said that he just spoke to his brother, and one county hadn’t come in yet. Then there was the pole worker who went home with the ballots in his car. There was Tom Brokaw, live on air, who told the newsroom staff to just give him the paper. Everyone knew they were live. Oh, and along the way, we learned that Daddy Bush called Sandy to see how she was feeling…

·       We watched Al D’Amato in defeat come to the podium in wrinkled shirt sleeves, looking quite disheveled. He had been stuck in an elevator.  

·       When Peter Vallone was all smiles making his concession speech after learning he had lost the NY Gubernatorial race, we realized that he saw the numbers for the City, and he would run for mayor in 2001.  

·       Together, we saw Miss Virginia fall off her chair at the democratic national convention.  

Phyllis and I have been on the phone watching election results for virtually every caucus and primary held this year. We cheer and jeer just as if we were at a game. We get testy and sometimes raise our voices when we agree or disagree with the pundits and political reporters. We strategize about what the next steps should be for the candidates. We look ahead to the next contest.  

Afterwards, we want to see the numbers, the raw data.  

“Wow, he would have been elected mayor if south east Queens delivered for him.”  

“Where did the votes that “Candidate So & So” get come from?"  

“What was the turnout?”  

“That ED (election district) has a very strong GOTV operation.” 

I liken this to our version of color commentary and watching game tape.  

Conclusion: Politics has replaced sports in my life. This season ends in November.

My Skin Color Is My Uniform

On Thursday, November 05, 2015, I was struck over the head and reminded of my blackness with a simple question.

A woman asked me if I knew if there were stairs that lead to the lower level of the skilled nursing facility that I was about to exit after visiting with my mother.
Benign query, right? Yes, until I set the scene for you…

Mother Moore is at a skilled nursing facility for physical rehabilitation therapy (I had to write physical because Mom tries to get a rise out of people by making them believe that she’s in for drug rehab – sick humor!). She has been at this facility before. It is wonderful, and she receives stellar care there. The staff members treat her like royalty, and make it difficult for me because I am unable to give her the same platinum level care at home. But I digress...

This nursing facility is in lower Westchester County, and is unbelievably “un-diverse.” (I made that word up, y’all.) I haven’t been able to count ten (10) people of color at this 197 bed home. And I'll be damned. I have consistently been approached as if I work there.

As I stood with my big a** Dooney and Burke tote bag on my right shoulder and another tote bag in my right hand, while signing out at the guest book in the lobby it happened. A woman came from behind, asked me the question I shared above. Now, not a big deal except for this: I was in my regular “street” attire, and I was actively engaged in a function that other visitors engaged. There was the woman behind the desk that she SHOULD have asked, but she asked ME.

The people who engage this behavior/line of questioning of/ with me are typically residents or visitors, but I did have two (2) incidents involving staff. I have been asked for towels, nightgowns, “ice cream for my wife,” medication, the code to the elevator, you name it.

Here’s the thing about this place. If you are a member of the nursing staff, you wear scrubs. If you are in housekeeping, your uniform consists of khakis and a blue polo shirt. I don’t know what the dietary staff wears. I do know that the administrators and therapeutic staff’s dress code appears to be business casual.

Now, I am not immune to racism, racist comments and all of that. Heck, the first time that I encountered racism was as a four year old living in and going to school in Verona, Italy. I attended the St. Maria Goretti School for pre-kindergarten. My teacher was Sister Gabriella. Percy Morris was the only other black student enrolled. I don’t know what his experience was, but I was called “nigger” almost every day, and almost every day, I fought. Yes. I had fist fights. The next time that I was targeted, was as a college student. One Friday night on North Campus, some yahoos in a truck drove up and called me and my friends “niggers.” Oh, and since I am putting it out there, I had a classmate who, during a recitation session declared that “the only reason Black people are at Cornell is because they are rich or on scholarship.”

I am exhaling right now. I had to write this just to get it off of my chest and just put it out there, and hopefully let it go. And if I told you what happened at the bank afterward...

To co-opt a portion of DeRay McKesson’s mantra: I love my blackness; just don’t put it in a box.

Run Harold, Run (Tom, Dick & Harry - Sally & Susie, too!)

Lately, there has been a good deal of talk about a possible Harold Ford, Jr. primary challenge against Senator Kirstin Gillibrand. What is the big deal? Here is my open letter to Mr. Ford.


Dear Mr. Ford,

I am writing to you to express my position on recent news reports of your interest in being elected to the United States Senate, representing the great state of New York. Plain and simple…throw your hat in the ring, and may the best person win. Incumbency is not important to me. Rather, it is in discerning which person can best represent the state’s interests. Further, we New Yorkers are in a unique position in our state to have only two (2) statewide officials who actually were voted on by the constituency.

People seem loathe to acknowledge the right of certain ones of us to pursue the elective office of our choosing. If you were a doctor who relocated to New York from another state, what are the odds that there would be any challenges to your application(s) to work in one of New York’s fine hospitals? But I digress. I eschew the “wait your turn” practice that dominates our political landscape. I have long argued with friends who failed to wage their own campaigns because it “wasn’t their turn.” Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, with all of their bravado changed political parties to run for Mayor of New York, rather than “wait their turn.” They were seemingly unwilling to wage a battle that would have legitimately pit their policy positions against the democrats in their respective would be primary races.

So, to you Mr. Ford and all others, if you feel that you can represent the people, get in the race. According to the United States Constitution , there are three (3) requirements for service in that auspicious body: one must be at least thirty (30) years old when sworn in; one must be a citizen of the United States for at least the past nine (9) years; and you must reside in the state you seek to represent.

Sincerely,

Robbin A. Moore
Registered Voter
Bronx, NY

So, this is what "FULL CIRCLE" means, huh?

My first post on my blog was prompted by vandalism. I wrote of my house being among others on the block that had been vandalized with graffiti. Well folks, I have been hit yet again!

So, here is the thing...I am at my computer hard at work (that is code for reading the news) when my next door neighbor rings the doorbell. She figured that since I was not on my front porch, I had no idea that my back windshield was shattered. Yup, someone took a beer bottle and smashed my window. I ask you..."WHAT THE HELL?!"

I am sure that you are wondering, so I will walk you through the questions you surely have for me. The Q & A's in blue are the real questions and answers between myself and the responding police officers from NYPD's 44th Precinct:
Q: Was anything missing from inside the car?
A: No.
Q: Did you see who did this?
A: No.
Q: Are you having trouble with anyone in the neighborhood?
A: Now I am.
Q: Oh, so that means that you still have your TomTom?
A: Yes.
Q: How about your blue tooth headset - was that taken?
A: No.
Q: Harriette's handicap tag. I mean that has to be worth something to someone right?
A: Yes, to Harriette. I've still got it.
Q: Umbrellas. I know that you have at least 3 in your car. Are they still there?
A: Yes.
Q: I know that you keep a lot of water in your car. Maybe someone was thirsty.
A: There was still a gang of water in the car, just as it had been the last time I parked it.
Q: (OMG!) What about your hot sauce?
A: Would you believe that I did not have any in the glove compartment?

So, what was this all about? Seems like it is one of three prevailing theories, two of which are economic.

Theory #1 - This type of vandalism is encouraged by business owners so as to increase their own revenues. You know, create the demand for their services. Officer Mena told me that not too long ago, he caught a 15 year old and a 14 year old boy with a bag full of car side view mirrors that they had stolen from parked cars. They ushered the boys back to the "scene of the crimes," and were able to return most of the mirrors to the car owners, while others retrieved their property from the precinct. Oh, the boys were arrested.

Theory #2 - There is a concerted effort under way to drive folks out of the neighborhood so as to speed the re-gentrification process. With the new Yankee Stadium (scheduled to open next year), the *Gateway Center, the revitalization of the Grand Concourse, plans for building the "downtown Bronx," called the "South Bronx Initiative," and a spate of new housing makes us ripe for the picking. My neighbor thinks that there is a group/gang of thugs who are tasked with making us uncomfortable in our neighborhood so that we will leave. Harlem has been under siege for almost a decade, now it is my neighborhood's turn.

*The Gateway Center is a $500,000,000 private investment project on the site of the Bronx Terminal Market that is being developed along with the site of the Bronx House of Detention is designed to include retail and restaurant space. It is supposed to also include the restoration of public access to the Harlem River.
(For more on the plans as originally presented, please visit http://www.bronxgateway.com)

Theory #3 - Some socially misfit malcontent with no respect for himself or others or OPP - that's other people's property, did it because they could. Enough said.

So now, $250 later, I have a new back windshield, can't wash my car for 3 days, hope my neighbor let's me park in her backyard, and I am still on the dole.

How are you doing?

UPDATE: At 4:31pm, my neighbor called and yes, my car is in her backyard.

HISTORY!

Tonight, the world will experience history. In short order, Barack Obama will be declared the presumptive nominee for President of the United States of America. I am welled with emotion. First, I am ecstatic because Barack Obama is my choice for President of the United States. However, eclipsing my personal choice, is the overwhelming matter of the historical significance that a man of color could possibly be President of the United States.

I will expound upon this more in a bit because I can hardly contain my excitement!

Piling On: Moore on What Went Wrong with Hillary's Campaign

A year ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton was the expected, anointed, inevitable democratic nominee for President of the United States of America. It's not looking so great for her right now. So, what went wrong? A lot of things.

Hillary's most glaring error is that she did not seize on the truth that by the very nature that she was as well-positioned as she was politically; the fact that she had amassed a good chunk of change toward her run; and even though she has been in and around Washington, DC for more than 35 years she could present herself as different or an agent of change because of her gender. Yes, folks...Hillary Clinton is a woman! If only she had remembered this and put it forward. She could have presented herself as a woman without playing Helen Reddy's "I am woman" at every stop. She should have just behaved a woman. Psst, Hillary - Barack Obama did not have to declare himself Black, we see that. In that same fashion, you could have declared yourself a woman.

This country has been run by men since its inception. I am not going to weigh in on whether that is good or bad since "it is what it is." Hillary has run a man's campaign. When did she begin to believe that she was not good enough? She has run a textbook man's campaign - right down to the pantsuits, albeit minus the tie and lapel flag pin. There have been so many world examples of women elected to office that she could have and probably should have considered (at least in part) modeling her campaign after. Women like Indira Ghandi, Margaret Thatcher, Corazon Aquino. Some more modern heads of state include Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the President of Argentia and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia. I predict that Hillary's stumbles won't cast a pall on women running for President of the United States in the future, but man, did she ever blow it!

The very first mistake however was that the Clinton campaign believed the hype. They were so certain that they had the nomination sewn up that they did not cross any of their "t's," and focused purely on the "i." Remember Hillary Clinton in that now very famous interview with Katie Couric? Answering Katie's question about what would happen if Hillary did not win, she answered, "Oh, but I will."

The next mistake, building on the first mistake was that there was no vision of a campaign beyond Super Tuesday. They so arrogantly expected to walk away with the nomination that they have had to scramble to keep their campaign going ever since, including Hillary lending her campaign in excess of $11 million dollars to date. According to the Federal Election Commission, Hillary's campaign has money, BUT that money can only be used for the general election in November. Talk about keeping your eyes on the prize! They should have done this the 12-step way "one day at a time."

While the Clinton campaign has lambasted the Obama campaign for not aggressively competing in West Virginia and Kentucky, the Clinton campaign early on ignored small contests in favor of going after what they considered bigger fish.

But wait, there is more...If only the Clinton campaign was more contemporary. What do I mean? The plans for this candidacy were on the shelf for many years. All that they did was take it off the shelf, dust it off and put it to work. The problem was that no one reviewed the plan to consider its efficacy. We are living in a world that is quickly changing. After Beta max was ousted by the VCR, who would have thought that the VCR would be out of date so soon? DVD move over, now there is Blu-Ray! As usual, I digress! So, that was the 20th century campaign vs. the 21st century campaign.

And what about not confirming the true demographics of the democratic electorate? It is my fervent belief that the Clinton campaign as well as a good number of the political pundits are way off the mark about who today's democrats really are. With all of the talk about the working class, undereducated, poor white people that Barack Obama seemingly does not connect with, I think that there are those who have no idea what democrats look like. It has been reported that the Obama Campaign has registered a slew of new voters. Given this alone, it is more challenging to really characterize the democratic demographic.

This is much like the Jackson campaign in 1988. (I promise this will be my only reference to Jesse Jackson, unless I get to ranting about how Bill threw Jesse under the bus with his South Carolina comment, even after Jesse and a lot of other clergy had Bill's back in the wake of Monica Lewinsky, and they had that prayer breakfast - digressing again!) In 1988, the Jackson campaign did a lot of grass roots organizing, and registered many folks who were otherwise disenfranchised - mainly the poor folks in Appalachia!

I served on the "Labor for Jackson" Committee in 1988

There are schools of thought that Hillary's campaign was hurt by her overzealous husband, fears that should Hillary win the Presidency that Bill Clinton would be the real Vice-President and that Bill played the race card in South Carolina, among other things. I have found her lack of grace to be a particularly bitter pill to swallow. I mean with eleven Obama primary wins in a row, Hillary never congratulated him for his wins!

For everyone reading this, please feel free to weigh in on what you believe went wrong with Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign for the Presidency 2008!

Memorial Day - Thank you to all who have served.

Today, we celebrate Memorial Day. How many Americans truly understand the signifcance of this holiday? For those who don't know and appreciate the day,it is a day of observance when the Nation offers remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

There are folks like myself who honor the service of men and women who have served in our nation's armed forces, regardless of whether or not they perished doing battle for our land. My dad was a career service man. He was drafted into the United States Army in the late 1950's and retired from active duty in 1985. He served two (2) tours of duty in Vietnam. My dad, SFC Robert Cleveland Moore, Sr. served many functions in the Army. He started out in transportation, and I really don't know what that means. He was an Army recruiter in the 1970's working out of the recruitment station on the Grand Concourse & Fordham Road for a number of years. He ended his career as a re-enlistment officer stationed in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Please join the rest of the Nation's citizens today at 3:00pm EST for a moment of silent obsevance.

If you double click on the picture that I have posted, you will better see a clipping from the SETAF CADENCE, August 23, 1968, where my father is pictured with my mother as he receives a medal from the Department of Defense.

A special shout out to my TBF's son and daughter-in-law, who serve with distinction out of Fayetville, NC.