Podcast Summary: How Republican Influencers Abandoned Football (and Might Fumble the Election)

Podcast: Pablo Torre Finds Out
Host: Pablo Torre
Guests: Jane Coaston (Crooked Media, CNN, NYT)
Date: October 1, 2024

Episode Overview

Pablo Torre explores the shifting relationship between American football and party politics, especially how leading Republican influencers—and segments of the MAGA movement—are increasingly distancing themselves from football, a sport long linked to conservative culture. With political figures from both sides vying for gridiron credibility ahead of the 2024 election, Pablo and Jane Coaston dig into how football as culture has become a battleground in the culture war—and how both parties are leveraging (or fumbling) America’s love of the game.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Football: The Real American Unifier

• [00:36–02:39] Pablo notes that college football is the #2 sport nationally (behind the NFL), acting as a cultural passport to America beyond coastal bubbles.
  • Jane: “College football is the weather.”
  • The sport’s role in creating social bonding is compared to talking about the weather—it’s a universal topic in much of the U.S.

2. Football as Political Battleground

• [02:39–04:26] As the election nears and the first vice presidential debate looms, both Trump and the Democrats are making strategic football appearances.
  • Trump attends Alabama’s stadium, throws chicken tenders; Tim Walz, former high school football coach, fronts the Democratic ticket.
  • Media and campaigns are treating football as a battleground state.

3. The Evolution of the Republican Identity

• [05:06–07:18] Jane describes her conservative Midwest upbringing and her journey from Libertarian to Independent, noticing how the GOP’s center of cultural gravity has shifted:
  • “The shortest way to put it is that Ronald Reagan is dead and Donald Trump is alive.” (Jane, [06:20])
  • The old coalitions (foreign policy hawks, social or economic conservatives) are realigning or dissolving.

4. MAGA’s Disconnect From Football

• [07:18–10:12] New MAGA influencers—Jane calls them “weird dorks”—increasingly attack football:
  • From conspiracy claims (the “Taylor Swift psyop” at the Super Bowl) to seeing sports as “a psyop” that distracts real Americans.
  • Pablo: “Donald Trump’s understanding of football ends around 1987, 1988.” ([10:59])

5. Online Campaigns & Culture War Tactics

• [10:12–12:56] MAGA is “the most online campaign in the history of politics,” recycling social media grievances—sometimes so out-there they lose connection with everyday sports fans.
  • Conservative influencers frame football as left-wing or corrupted; others say it’s “degenerate,” hinting at racial resentment or anti-mainstream posturing.
  • Jane: “It's like the weird dorks shifted parties ... now you’re starting to get like, sports ball on the right.”

6. Populism, Pandering, and Authenticity

• [14:06–18:30] Pablo and Jane highlight the Democrats’ opportunity: by authentically embracing football (e.g., Tim Walz’s real coaching background), they appeal widely.
  • Democratic outreach at games is called “obvious, cynical, and the right move.”
  • Football functions as a “big tent” in a divided nation.

7. The Anthony Gonzalez Parable

• [19:56–22:37] Ex-Ohio State/NFL star and GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez faces death threats after voting to impeach Trump, becomes a symbol of what happens to “real” football Republicans who break party lines.
  • Jane: “... people were trying to kill him ... people for whom his conservatism wasn't enough.”

8. Culture Wars: Who’s the ‘Cool Hang’?

• [29:23–33:39] Football fandom is reframed as a “cool hang” test—a measure of relatability for politicians.
  • Jane: “...college football is actually the best test for being a normal person in America.”
  • The GOP populist message is countered by a new Democratic effort to position themselves as both authentically mainstream and genuinely invested in football.

9. The Emotional Sublime of Sports—and Its Political Lessons

• [34:31–41:40] The hosts argue that sports provide the collective emotional victories absent from politics.
  • Jane describes the “sublime” moments in fandom—miracle plays, buzzer-beaters—as a uniquely American shared experience.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “College football is the weather.” — Jane Coaston [01:16]
  On football’s ubiquity as a topic of conversation, transcending regional and political divides.

• “The shortest way to put it is that Ronald Reagan is dead and Donald Trump is alive.” — Jane Coaston [06:20]
  Summing up the Republican Party’s transformation.

• “Donald Trump’s understanding of football ends around 1987, 1988.” — Pablo Torre [10:59]
  Pointing out Trump’s dated relationship with the game.

• “Weird dorks. Weird dorks. Major league sports in and of itself is nothing but a psyop.” — Jane Coaston (on new MAGA anti-sports rhetoric) [12:02]

• “There is a funny shift of power in the high school cafeteria of American politics towards the kids in the back who feel like they aren’t the jocks—and this time they’re the Republicans.” — Pablo Torre [14:06]

• “I want to know who, if not sports fans...who’s directing this cruise ship?” — Pablo Torre [09:56]
  On the GOP’s political influencers.

• “Football in particular is the one thing that I predict will not go broke.” — Pablo Torre [14:44]
  On the “go woke, go broke” narrative.

• “Anthony Gonzalez... NFL, Cuban American, state of Ohio... now he wants no part of [the Republican Party].” — Pablo Torre [21:45]

• “If a major political figure happens to show up at the football game, where you’re going with your family, that’s good. That is the kind of retail politics... That’s right there.” — Jane Coaston [18:38]

• “The cool hang cafeteria table test: who are you sitting down and shooting the shit with?” — Pablo Torre [29:55]

• “I want people to find joy in places that are not politics, because politics... there are no eternal victories. What people in politics are looking for is that kind of eternal victory you only get in sports.” — Jane Coaston [38:58]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:36–02:39 | Football as cultural passport; “College football is the weather”
• 02:39–04:26 | Football as a political litmus test; campaign ritual
• 05:06–07:18 | Jane’s personal & ideological journey; evolution of Republican conservatism
• 08:08–10:12 | The Taylor Swift ‘psyop’ saga; MAGA disconnect from modern football
• 12:02–14:06 | Rise of anti-football right-wing rhetoric; from sports as mainstream to sports as “psyop”
• 19:56–22:37 | The story of Anthony Gonzalez, football, and party exile
• 29:23–33:39 | Football as the “cool hang” test for candidates; who’s relatable?
• 34:31–41:40 | Sports as the last big tent; the search for “eternal victory” outside politics

Tone & Style

Pablo and Jane’s tone is sharp, conversational, occasionally irreverent, mixing sports nerdery, political insight, and humor. The episode weaves together pop culture anecdotes, political analysis, and personal stories to show how sports (especially football) remain both a mirror and a lever for deeper American divides—and sometimes, for fragile unity.

For Listeners Who Missed the Show

If you want to understand why 2024’s political struggle is happening on the gridiron as much as on the debate stage, and how both parties are trying—with varying authenticity—to claim football fandom as a sign of belonging, this episode breaks down the history, the memes, and the big stakes. The bottom line: Football is the last great American common ground—and whoever fumbles it in the culture war might well lose the election.