Isn’t that just semantics? Sounds like the definition of what is is...Besides, isn’t that what politicians do anyway, curry favor? How else would they get elected?
It's only a big deal because 0bama demonstrated that he was not being honest, one has to question why. It is traditional for the president to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day, it matters not if he is a fan of any MLB team, he doesn't even have to like the game. It would have been perfectly okay for 0bama to show up in a Nationals jacket or cap and not be a fan of theirs, but he is the one who wore the Sox cap. He ought to have known someone was going to be asking him about it, the hem and haw, umm-ing, wrong pronunciation of the ballpark, it just adds up to the phoniness of the situation.
He would garner no ill will if he just showed up for the first pitch, told Dribble he loves to watch a game when he is able to catch one, maybe even elaborate, "... and especially at the park, it's a better game when you see it that way." There is no reason whatever to pretend to be a fan of a particular team, especially when the chances of being caught at it were so high.