Election night special

November 4, 2008


Blue and red. Percentages. Calling a state. Graphics and experts and legends.

Take everything you love about sports coverage. The predictions, the numbers, the human interest stories. The battle of good and evil, of your team and their team, of underdogs and how the standings will shake out when it’s all said and done.

Now apply this to something with real consequence. Like the future of our country’s policies.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Election Night Coverage!

It’s all there. Talking heads, trained to interpret and console, to think logically in the wake of so many decisions. They’re there to make you feel better. They’re Al Michaels or Pat Summerall, prepared to sum up the election in a matter of sentences.

There’s the opinion men and women, the John Maddens, the Tony Kornheisers, all prepared to put a little spin on the whole proceedings. They take the simple facts and turn them into speculation, both preparing us for the possible and reminding us of the excitement – the thrill of the chase.

Stats appeal to those who love concrete details. Candidate parties appeal to those who want to be included. Talk of surprising winners appeals to the underdog-chasers, and tales of real people doing real things touch a nerve in all of us.

This is our process. Our selection. We choose these people to run our country, and in these first few hours after polls close, our optimism (or pessimism, if your candidate is losing) is at its peak. If we win, we’re almost positive that everything will be perfect. If we lose, it might as well be the end of the world.

If you know what’s good for you, you’ve already voted – or at least you’ve made plans to vote. Now, sit back and watch this crazy process unfold. Grab a beer, make predictions – hell, take bets if it makes things more exciting.

You only get to see this kind of spectacle once every four years. Grab your foam fingers and start rooting for your candidate.

Because it’s all downhill from here.

Tags: Politics, Television |

7 Comments

Comments

7 Responses to “Election night special”

  1. | Zhang's Blog on November 4th, 2008 1219 pm

    [...] Now apply this to something with real consequence. Like the future of our country’s policies. Read More||| as they are %26quot;called%26quot; by the media, and the latest standings of the BrendanLoy.com [...]

  2. Dave on November 4th, 2008 138 pm

    I voted and I can’t wait to watch all of the election coverage tonight! I’d much rather watch it than an NBA game (sorry, but it’s true).

  3. Elyse on November 4th, 2008 212 pm

    Election Night Coverage makes all the obnoxious TV ads and ridiculousness of the past several months worth it! Woo!!

  4. Dave on November 4th, 2008 721 pm

    I bet all the sales people at TV stations are crying that they won’t have political ads to air.

  5. On My First Presidential Election Participation | ElyseKufeldt.com on November 4th, 2008 848 pm

    [...] voted…I wish I could have done something.” Now, I can watch the election results as a happy, exciting sports game, complete with pundits, flashing lights, and two colors turning on a [...]

  6. Corey Vilhauer on November 5th, 2008 1009 am

    Dave, Elyse – hope you had a great night. We sure did. Hip hip Obama!

  7. Amie Van Overmeer on November 7th, 2008 1155 am

    For me, election night IS my Super Bowl. Sadly, it’s only every four years. Since I’ve been able to vote, this was my first presidential election where my team won. I have to say it was much more fun that way.

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