Trouble at Home"In a town with two football teams, local fans are divided. Turns out the same goes for the team owners and their politics. Basketball in the Big Apple? Similar story. Knicks owner James Dolan contributes to Mitt Romney; Nets co-owner Bruce Ratner gives to Obama.
Speaking of Romney, the teams he might root for don’t necessarily root back. Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, gave $17,900 to Obama and the DNC. Stephen Pagliuca, an owner of the Boston Celtics, gave over $66,000 to Democrats. Pagliuca’s also a managing partner at Bain Capital, which may ring a bell. Owners of the Red Sox and the Bruins show a little more love for the former governor.
Back in New York City, the political rivalry between football and basketball owners doesn't play out in baseball. Mets owner Fred Wilpon gave $2,500 to Mitt Romney. And while the Steinbrenners have been quiet this year, George III was known to give to Republicans.
Earlier this summer we saw that a franchise owner's politics could get people buying or boycotting chicken sandwiches. Could the same happen with season tickets?
We're not betting on it. Sports fandom is one of those sacred, primordial loyalties—a completely irrational allegiance that makes some of us paint our bodies and stand near-naked in sub-freezing temperatures for hours at a time. Finding out your owner plays for the other political team probably won't test your faith nearly as much as a quarterback time-share that's half Tim Tebow, or the cold turkey quitting of Jeremy Lin."
- Stephen Melendez