64 Problems but Ukraine Ain't One

The headline might be a bit misleading, as I am not going to write about Ukraine. I am not really going to be writing about the NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship either, except tangentially. I just a few minutes ago saw a tweet from the OFA account that uses Obama's name and it quoted the president as lamenting that, by only being able to pick one winner, the fans of the other 63 colleges involved would be mad at him.

Poor, tormented Mr. Obama.

So, we see that the President has filled out his brackets for March Madness, and we all expect that he will be embarrassingly wrong with his predictions. I don't see anybody really getting upset over his predictions either, because whether or not you find the fact that he thinks your favorite team to go our in the first round, they have no influence over the actual games. At the end of the tournament, we will look back at his brackets and have a good laugh at his expense. Some will laugh louder than others, but nobody really thinks that the President's predictions should be taken seriously, not even those suffering from the deluded belief that Obama is the most supreme super-genius to ever occupy the White House. That is truly a good thing.

 I saw the tweet from the Barrack Obama account earlier and thought, "Don't be such a baby. So people get upset over what is essentially a meaningless distraction. The results of the actual games will either vindicate you or your detractors, no harm done." No harm done, because we are in America and sports are a fun and the Presidential Brackets are but a meaningless distraction. Could you imagine a scenario where the leader's predictions of sports outcomes were to be taken seriously? Say that Iraq had their final 64 tournament about to kick off and Saddam published his bracket. Would the players take his predictions to be more than a fun outlet? How much influence would this have on the players on the court or the outcome of the game? I used to hear rumors that the Hussein sons would torture athletes who mad poor showings in international competitions; what if national competitions were also given the same importance?

Alright, the scenario where a dictator makes his predictions and the games then turn out according to those predictions because the players fear the retribution that could take place for those who dare mock la grande fromage by losing at the wrong time or beating a team to which you were supposed to lose is incredibly hyperbolic. Still, it is nice to think that we are living in a world where the desires of  the ruling class do not really affect many of the mundane aspects of life.