| Posted on Fri, Oct. 29, 2004 | |
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ASHBURN, Va. - This election season, Washington Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot has a predicament faced by many NFL players: a Democrat's background and a Republican's income. "They turn Republican. I see it all the time," Smoot said. "It all goes back to changing your economic value." Smoot, a black from modest means in Mississippi, has decided to choose his roots over his pocketbook. He is supporting John Kerry for president. "When you go into a higher tax bracket, all of a sudden you don't want to vote for this candidate because he's going to raise taxes," Smoot said. "I thought about it. I'm not going to solely vote for this candidate just because he's going to save me a couple of dollars and it not turn out to be the best thing for me or my country." That, however, presents Smoot with another dilemma: For Kerry to win, the Redskins have to lose on Sunday -- at least according to a bizarre statistical correlation that's been accurate for seven decades. "We've got to win this game no doubt, but I'm hoping John Kerry can kind of reverse the curse," Smoot said. "I'm wishing him luck, man. This is the millennium for all trends to be broken." Since the Redskins became the Redskins in 1933, the result of the team's final home game before the presidential election has correctly predicted the White House winner. If the Redskins win, the incumbent party wins. If they lose, the incumbent party is ousted. "It's kind of amazing," Coach Joe Gibbs said. "You wouldn't think something like that would line up that many times." Gibbs said the statistic doesn't really mean anything, but he can at least pretend that it does -- because he's solidly in the Bush camp. "Hopefully we'll have a lot of people pulling for us," said Gibbs, who voted when he traveled to his North Carolina home over the bye weekend. Kerry's vice presidential candidate, John Edwards, has been quoted as saying he's rooting for the Packers. While no doubt thankful for the endorsement, Green Bay Coach Mike Sherman is concerned about more rudimentary matters, such as the health of quarterback Brett Favre. "It's going to take a lot more than Packers fans to determine the outcome of an election," Sherman said. Redskins win, incumbent wins -- a history Since 1933, when the Boston Braves were renamed the Redskins, the result of the team's final home game before the presidential election has always correctly predicted the White House winner. If the Redskins win, the incumbent party wins. If they lose, the incumbent party is ousted. An election-by-election recap: 1936: Redskins (in final year in Boston) defeated Chicago Cardinals 13-10 on Nov. 1. Franklin Roosevelt won re-election over Alf Landon on Nov. 3. 1940: Redskins defeated Pittsburgh Pirates 37-10 on Nov. 3. Roosevelt won re-election over Wendell Willkie on Nov. 5. 1944: Redskins defeated Cleveland Rams 14-10 on Nov. 5. Roosevelt won re-election over Thomas Dewey on Nov. 7. 1948: Redskins defeated Boston Yanks 59-21 on Oct. 31. Incumbent Harry Truman (who assumed office after Roosevelt's death) defeated Dewey on Nov. 2. 1952: Redskins lost to Pittsburgh Steelers 24-23 on Nov. 2. Dwight Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson on Nov. 4, returning the Republicans to the White House for the first time in 20 years. 1956: Redskins defeated Cleveland Browns 20-9 on Oct. 21. Eisenhower won re-election over Stevenson on Nov. 6. 1960: Redskins lost to Cleveland Browns 31-10 on Oct. 30. John Kennedy defeated vice president Richard Nixon on Nov. 8. 1964: Redskins defeated Chicago Bears 27-20 on Oct. 25. Lyndon Johnson (who assumed office after Kennedy's death) defeated Barry Goldwater on Nov. 3. 1968: Redskins lost to New York Giants 13-10 on Oct. 27. Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey on Nov. 5. 1972: Redskins defeated Dallas Cowboys 24-20 on Oct. 22. Nixon won re-election over George McGovern on Nov. 7. 1976: Redskins lost to Dallas Cowboys 20-7 on Oct. 31. Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford (who assumed office after Nixon's resignation) on Nov. 2. 1980: Redskins lost to Minnesota Vikings 39-14 on Nov. 2. Ronald Reagan unseated Carter on Nov. 4. 1984: Redskins defeated Atlanta Falcons 27-14 on Nov. 5. Reagan won re-election over Walter Mondale on Nov. 6. 1988: Redskins defeated New Orleans Saints 27-24 on Nov. 6. Vice president George Bush defeated Michael Dukakis on Nov. 8. 1992: Redskins lost to New York Giants 24-7 on Nov. 1. Bill Clinton unseated Bush on Nov. 3. 1996: Redskins defeated Indianapolis Colts 31-16 on Oct. 27. Clinton won re-election over Bob Dole on Nov. 5. 2000: Redskins lost to Tennessee Titans 27-21 on Oct. 30. George W. Bush defeated Al Gore on Nov. 7. 2004: Redskins host Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Bush faces John Kerry on Tuesday.
Sunday
Green Bay at Washington When: 1 p.m. Records: Packers 3-4; Redskins 2-4 |
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