The Election Games

Salon.com

And now for the latest in sports: the 2016 election
 
Yes. You read that right. Haven’t you noticed? Presidential campaigning, debating, polling, and, of course, trash talking: it is all part of the election sport…the 2016 election games. After all, it is the competition that everyone is talking about most these days, right?
 
We have two conferences: Republican and Democrat. And when the conference champs face off in the championship polling this November, the rivalry between the two will be more evident than ever.
 
We have MVPs. Donald Trump, for instance, is clearly at the top of his game as he continues to win in the polls and further proved himself this past Super (bowl) Tuesday. He’s definitely a Lebron James sort of player, though. You either love him or you hate him. And it is no secret that there are plenty of fans on either side of that spectrum that will make sure you know it.
 
As is unfortunately true for just about every professional sport, the election games are not without the player that finds trouble with the law. Despite her troubles with the law and investigations, Hillary Clinton took the MVP title for the Democrat conference with her Super Tuesday success. This is leaving the fan base of Bernie Sanders in a position that did not live up to the hype they bring to mindless tweeting or college campus protests.
 
Just like any other sport, the election games have their underdogs too. Ben Carson and John Kasich take the unfortunate title. Neither had much success on Tuesday and are having trouble keeping up, or even remotely close, with our leading players. Despite their continued work, their fan bases seem to be consistently shrinking, such as those of the Cleveland Browns or the Philadelphia 76ers.
 
The election games aren’t short of good, decent players that have a shot at overthrowing the MVP of the game. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are those guys. The ability is there. It is just a question of whether it will be enough to come out a champion this 2016 election. Anyone betting on an upset?
 
The debates are a favorite event of the election games and tend to produce the most trash talk. Trump and Rubio have been the center of it, as of recently, and neither player seems to be letting up anytime soon. Sometimes you can really see a sliver of Richard Sherman in their talking game. Classic.
 
Fill out your brackets. Make your predictions. The election season is in full swing at this point and it all leads up to the championship showdown in November. It’s a crazy sport. The election games are crazy games.
 
Emma Cheetham
@em_cheetham