Opinion: A Giuliani curse?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Most politicians, knowing that their positions on serious issues inevitably divide voters, abhor conflict over less substantial matters. Which explains a certain ambivalence that sometimes crops up when it comes to their rooting interests in sports.

Bill Richardson still hasn’t lived down his insistence on ‘Meet the Press’ in May that he was a fan of both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Hillary Clinton, an Illinois native but a New York senator, walks a thin line supporting the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs.

With Rudy Giuliani, there is no such hair-splitting. The Brooklyn native is an unabashed, dyed-in-the-wool Yankee fan. Both he and the team, however, may be rethinking how he expresses his devotion.

Giuliani happened to be raising money Monday in Michigan for his Republican presidential bid, which also allowed him to take in his team’s final road game against the Detroit Tigers. The Yanks not only lost, they endured one of the worst thumpings in their storied history: 16-0.

Here’s the particularly distressing part for Giuliani, the team and its fans -- the week before, while campaigning in Southern California, he was in the crowd when the Los Angeles Angels walloped the Yanks, 18-9.

‘I’m afraid the Yankees are going to ban me from their games,’ Giuliani conceded after the most recent drubbing.

For the gory details of the Monday night contest -- plus Giuliani’s bold prediction on what the future holds for his team -- go here.

-- Don Frederick