I think a better analogy would be....
Kerry tries out for his football team. He makes the team, and gets hurt running a couple plays on offense in the first game.
He quits the football team and spends the rest of his high school life telling the school board about all the atrocities that were committed by his team to the other team. You know, like tackling and blocking them. And maybe a couple kids on the other team get hurt too which seemingly adds legitimacy to what Kerry is saying.
Kerry's former football players are looked down upon as goons after the football season, where they finish 8-3 but all the fans assume they had a losing season, because thats what the local newspaper kept saying over and over. Many of his former football players are given the short end of the stick after they graduated high school, just because they played for that high school team, that season.
Thirty years later, Kerry tries to pick up chicks by telling everyone he was a star football player 30 years ago.
Some star players got suspended on Kerry's false testimony before the student council, costing the team some games, and team spirit was hurt reducing the crowds at the games.
Kerry took to showing up at pep rallies for the cross-town rival team. He was well accepted there as a turn coat. It got him some chicks and invites to parties.