Booed on the ice

It's hard to blame Sarah Palin for her booing on the ice in Philadelphia this evening. It's almost a truism of politics that if you send a pol to a sporting event, he's going to get booed. Politicians, as a class, aren't all that popular, and it's what sports fans do. According to legend, Eagles fans once booed Santa Claus. Still, not a great moment.

The Times hockey blog says the boos were "resounding." The Wilmington paper says it was an "avalanche."

The booing of Palin (and her young daughter) was also predicted by sports types who spoke to my colleague Ken Vogel before the game.

“I am surprised that the candidate would go on the ice in Philly — Philly fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus and booed Beyonce(*) because she was wearing a Michael Jordan dress," said Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals, a conference rival of the Flyers. "This is dangerous territory.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a former Philly mayor and big fan of the town’s sports teams, also said before the game he didn’t think the puck-drop was a good idea.

“Sports and politics, I believe, never mix,” Rendell told Politico after introducing Barack Obama at a North Philadelphia rally. “But the mayor threw out the first pitch at the Phillies game and he got a standing ovation,” Rendell said of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who also attended the rally and was standing beside Rendell.

“It was a strike,” Nutter deadpanned.

Video of Palin's turn on the ice is here.