I can’t tell you how many times I’ve mistaken Bernie Sanders, the independent Vermont senator and arguably one the best running backs to ever do it, with Barry Sanders, the Hall of Fame socialist with three houses.
But Trump voters, who are inherently more NFL knowledgeable and America loving than the rest of us, didn’t know that Barry Sanders is a Detroit Lions god who might arguably have ended his career as the best running back to ever play had he not retired in his prime, and that’s why Garth Brooks was wearing his jersey when he performed in Detroit.
According to Sporting News, Brooks took the stage at Ford Field in Detroit, home of the Lions, wearing a Barry Sanders No. 20 jersey. The 70,000 in attendance roared with approval because Barry Sanders jersey. Sanders played his entire career in Detroit before retiring at 31. He would leave the NFL with the third-most yards in NFL history (Sanders now sits in fourth place after being passed by Frank Gore in 2019). To put it plainly, Barry Sanders is God in Detroit.
But why did Garth Brooks, or someone in his camp, decide to post a photo of the country singer in the Sanders jersey to social media? Low IQ Trump voters got all in their feelings when they thought that Brooks, a white country god in his own right, was endorsing the crazy socialism of Bernie Sanders!
Sporting News believes that Sanders jersey number 20 was also mistaken for the presidential election year, and because Trump voters love a good conspiracy theory, they surmised that Brooks was championing the outlandish idea that healthcare for all is a good thing.
Brooks was called “a big freaking liberal socialist,” and another cautioned him to keep his music and politics separate, “Don’t care about your politics. Love your music. Let’s keep politics and your entertainment separate,” Sporting News reports.
It has been great watching the fuming mad Trump supporters who believed that Brooks was supporting Bernie Sanders lose their shit. But I believe that we can avoid this mistake if we just remember that Bernie Sanders will always be remembered for his insane balance, speed and vision, and Barry Sanders just might run away with the Democratic presidential nomination.