The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency

Conclusion

Since Theodore Roosevelt descended from Mount Marcy in 1901, sports have been a small but growing facet of the American presidency. How important? That depends on the president, his interests, temperament, talent, and his needs—and on the nature of the presidency and when he served. Roosevelt could hike through Yellowstone practically unprotected and “scramble” and swim in the wilds of Rock Creek Valley. He also used sporting ops to burnish his macho image and promote his interest in conservation of wildlife and natural resources. When he climbed the precarious cli=s along Rock Creek, barely a stone’s throw from the White House, each step was progressively “bully” and “bullier.” By contrast, when George W. Bush was asked if he would like to ride in a race car at the Daytona 500 in February 2004, he had to beg o=: “I’d like to, but I’m afraid the [Secret Service] agents wouldn’t let me.”1 When George W. Bush ?ew to Florida for the Daytona 500, he aimed his political radar at the second-largest sporting event (second only to the Super Bowl) and an extremely popular spectator sport. In addition to the 180,000 race fans in the grandstands and in>eld, the Daytona 500 had a television audience of 35 million. Faced with declining presidential ratings, he chose a sporting event that had a conservative fan base and friendly competitors. Brian Z. France, NASCAR chairman and chief executive, had contributed $2,000 to the Bush campaign and the president had entertained the previous year’s winner, Tony Stewart, at the White House. As the racers were being introduced on a grand stage, Air Force One eased into view and, after landing, Bush approached in an impressive twenty-car motorcade. After climbing out of his black limousine, he waved to the cheering crowd. He and Laura Bush chatted with several drivers and admired their cars. The president boasted that he liked “speed,” reminding the drivers that he had ?own >ghter jets in the Air National Guard. The Bushes stayed for half of the 200 laps and then departed. The television cameras interrupted their coverage to focus on Air Force One as it winged over the track and vanished into the clouds. The Washington Post called the presidential appearance a “shot of publicity that no opponent could buy.”2 ★ ★ ★ Conclusion ★ What Do Sports Reveal? If we begin with Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, eighteen men have made the presidential sporting team. While none of them equaled TR, most of them had sporting interests before and during their presidencies. Some have been expert athletes, some merely spectators or occasional sportsmen. With the recent explosion of sports and especially televised sports, have our expectations for presidents changed? Governor Al Smith of New York famously said of Franklin Roosevelt when FDR was running for governor of New York: “We do not elect him for his ability to do a double back-?ip or a handspring.” It’s safe to say that we still don’t.3 The question is not whether to exercise, but how to integrate sports with the duties of the presidency. We do not expect our presidents to be sports fanatics or to spend their afternoons playing golf and their evenings watching baseball or football. As with Eisenhower’s golf, a president who spends too much time at sport creates the impression that he is neglecting matters of state. Sports and exercise carried to extreme may endanger the health and well-being of the president. Even if the president merely faints or feels dizzy while jogging, the news media blows these events far out of proportion. But, given the choice, we prefer our presidents to be vigorous and outgoing. We expect them to keep themselves in shape. More to the point, we don’t want them alcoholic, obese, or ashen in complexion. Occasionally, a nonathletic president has come to o;ce after the death of his predecessor—Calvin Coolidge , Harry Truman, or Lyndon Johnson. We tolerate—sometimes even admire and enjoy—these chief executives as we get to know them. But would they have been nominated by their party, much less elected president? We don’t want wimps or couch potatoes leading the nation. But, if we elect a sporting president, can we predict what type of president and administration we will get? We historians don’t have to be Monday morning quarterbacks to make judgments about a president’s sporting enthusiasms. Presidential sports may be a means...