2016 Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders took a night off from the campaign trail Monday night to watch the come from behind victory of the Golden State Warriors led by two time MVP Steph Curry.
As Sanders watched Curry carry his team, he may reflected upon his own journey as a presidential candidate. When Bernie Sanders’ first started his campaign he was told he didn’t have a fighting chance against the all powerful Clinton Political Machine. As time progressed Sanders’ message started resonating throughout the country. What began as a few people gathering to hear the Progressive message of Sanders, has turned into a Nationwide movement of people who feel the Bern.
MSNBC picks up that thread, calling Bernie Sanders the Steph Curry of Politics.
Both men somehow manage to own the mantle of underdog – even though, in Curry’s case, he is on the deepest team in the league talent-wise and is coming off a NBA Finals win last year; and, in Sanders’ case, he has by far raised (and spent) the most money this election cycle and in recent months has rattled off victory after victory in major primary states, including a few where early polls initially had him trailing in double digits. This leads to another similarity between Curry, the Warriors and the Sanders campaign. They finish strong. The data has shown late-deciding Democratic voters overwhelming break toward Sanders. And anyone who has been following the NBA playoffs this year can attest to the fact that the Warriors have won many games they had no business winning. The Oklahoma City Thunder had a solid fourth quarter lead not once but twice against the Warriors in the conference finals, with ample opportunities to put them away, but Curry and the Warriors, not unlike Sanders, never let up.”
As Sanders left the game he was bombarded by screaming fans. He did take a minute to speak to reporters outside of the arena. “They turned it around, I think that is what our campaign is going to do as well; a very good omen for our campaign.”
According to CNN when asked if his attendance helped the Warriors, Sanders’ replied, “Absolutely! No question about it. They were losing, then in the third quarter they did fantastically well. What other explanation is there?”
This was the seventh game in a seven game series that had been very rough for the Golden State team. At one point the Warriors were down 3-1 in the series and it looked like their dreams of another NBA championship was just out of reach this year. However things began to turn around for this team when Steph Curry stepped up and began to rain down his famous three pointers. His famous three pointer is what was instrumental in carrying his team through the series to a come back win that has only been done by 3 other teams in history during the NBA finals.
MSNBC did acknowledge the vast difference between Curry’s chances and Sanders’.
Of course, the big difference between Curry and Sanders is that there are no super-delegates in the NBA to put the Warriors star over the finish line – Curry has to win outright. At this point the senator from Vermont has been pretty much statistically eliminated from winning via pledged delegates, and must place his hopes on a California victory to persuade party elites what he has long argued – that he is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump in the fall.