It seems sort of odd watching this broadcast. A big scoreboard, a field of play, constant updates and, of course, legions of experts scrutinizing every angle of the day's top contest.
Although this sounds just like a football game on ABC or an ESPN doubleheader, it also depicts the style and feel of election coverage, which many of us will watch next Tuesday.
At first some might scoff, saying that politics is far more serious than athletics and should be treated as such. A closer inspection, however, shows a number of parallels between watching televised sports and watching America select the next president.
On first glance, we have the scoreboard. When one tunes into either broadcast, the first question comes, What's the score?"" Then come the teams, team colors and, of course, the mascots for each side. Although the Republicans share the elephant mascot with powerhouse schools like Alabama, the Democrats' donkey seems like a less popular choice to represent a team.
The visual presentation of elections and sports also links them. While watching football, the fan always has one of his or her eyed on the ticker at the bottom of the screen to keep updated on scores from around the country and maybe check on their fantasy teams.
During the election, viewers will always look to the bottom of the screen for up-to-the-minute updates in battleground states, tracking party vote tallies and precincts reporting. The games of the night will be in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, so fans should pay extra attention to those.
Then we have the waves of experts and loudmouthed fans. Three- and four-person panels, usually populated by a levelheaded moderator and several colorful and/or partisan experts, are staples of both pregame and election shows.
Bill O'Reilly has his bombastic counterpart in Skip Bayless. David Brooks his eggheaded match in ESPN's John Clayton. Hell, on Tuesday even Keith Olbermann will be around, giving the night an uncanny ""SportsCenter"" feel.
The final, and possibly most annoying, factor that will link sports and elections is the fans. Not the sensible ones, mind you, but the brash fans, who will loudly condemn you for not siding with their team.
Opposing sports fans may pour beer on you or begin an ""asshole"" chant in your direction, but political fans will keep explaining an issue, like the immorality of welfare, to you, until you just stop caring.
The Internet provides an outlet for both kinds of fans to spout their most idealistic views and congregate with like-minded individuals.
These commonalities probably show that something is wrong with the way politics is presented on television and perhaps a much larger flaw in our political system. This, however, is a sports column, so we'll focus on how sports fandom can improve the election-viewing experience.
On Tuesday, try watching the election like you'd watch a game. Get chips, dips, drinks and other snack foods. Invite over fellow fans and even try grilling if it's not too cold out (note: this is not an endorsement of pregaming before voting).
It may seem absurd, but if elections are already broadcast like sports'¦ well, why not?
Think Obama's efficient ground game will chew up time of possession and keep the McCain-Palin aerial attack off the field? Tell Ben about it at breiner@wisc.edu.
