A political football is a topic or issue that is seized on by opposing political parties or factions and made a more political issue than it might initially seem to be. "To make a political football" ut of somethingis defined in

William Safire William Lewis Safire (; Safir; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009Safire, William (1986). ''Take My Word for It: More on Language.'' Times Books. . p. 185.) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He w ...

's ''Safire's Political Dictionary'' as "To thrust a social, national security, or otherwise ostensibly non-political matter into partisan politics". In 1953 the gangster Lucky Luciano complained in an interview to Safire that "I been a political football". A less-used meaning, is a political issue that is continually debated but left unresolved. The term is often used during a political election

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

to highlight issues that have not been completely addressed, such as the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses ...

and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

History

The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

'' has English examples of the use of "football" (the ball, not the game) in a figurative sense for something helplessly tossed around by others as early as the 16th century, for example, from about 1600: "I am the verye foote-ball of the starres". The phrase is used by the '' Bangor, Maine Whig and Courier'' in 1857.Safire, 555 An American cartoon from the time of President Harrison in 1889 shows a clear visual illustration of the metaphor, without using the actual phrase. It is now equally popular in other English-speaking countries, where the association is naturally with

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

("soccer") or the predominant local form of football.

Other football metaphors in U.S. politics

Many other

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

terms are in common use in the United States. Once a topic or issue has presented itself, the opposition will take the issue and " run with it" and "try to score points". There may be many parties in opposition to take up the topic, and sometimes run it into the ground, which at times can "backfire" and end up hurting the opposing faction. This can happen to the point of that party being seen as " fumbling" the issue. When a party or candidate ends up ignoring or putting off the issue, they are said to be " punting" it. In addition to the opponents of the politician or party using the subject as political fuel, the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

may also "run with it". "

Moving the goalposts Moving the goalposts (or shifting the goalposts) is a metaphor, derived from goal-based sports, that means to change the rule or criterion (goal) of a process or competition while it is still in progress, in such a way that the new goal offers one ...

" is the practice of changing the criteria of something while it is in progress (such as an investigation or a hearing) in order to offer one side an inherent advantage or disadvantage. Sometimes these matters become larger, like during an election, than anyone would have thought possible during the event itself. Other countries also use metaphors drawn from their local sport in discussing politics, such as soccer, Australian rules football,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

Notes

References

, ''Safire's Political Dictionary'', 2008 rvd. edn., Oxford University Press, , 9780195343342
google books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Political Football Election campaign terminology Metaphors referring to sport Political concepts