When she first ran for the senate, Hillary Clinton made a mistake by saying she was a Yankees fan despite previous reports that, with her roots in Illinois, she was a Cubs fan. She later explained that the Yankees were her “American League team.” Clearly these comments were designed with the New York voter in mind. Does anyone think that Hillary has very strong opinions on the matter one way or the other? I don’t remember seeing her at either a Cubs or Yankees game. In any case, when asked by Denver reporters about her opinion of this year’s World Series matchup, she answered, “Neither of my teams is in. I’m going to be an interested but dispassionate observer.” She could have very easily said, “As a Yankees fan, I want to see the Red Sox lose, so I’m pulling for the Rockies,” or “I am very impressed by the never-say-die attitude of the Rockies, so I hope they win.” Instead, she gave the answer that most sports fans would have.
On the other hand, Rudy is supposedly a big Yankees fan. He’s always shown at Yankees games. He rooted for the Yankees against the Mets. He’s also very conscious of his status as a true Yankees fan in the political arena:
“I’m a Yankee fan,” Giuliani replied then. “I always believe it’s a sign of my being straight with people, about not wanting to fool them, that I was one of the first mayors to be willing to say I was a Yankee fan.” [Daily News article]
In no universe should a die hard Yankees fan actually want the Red Sox to become champs again. I guess the political universe is an exception.