Elections and NFL training camp
Former Denver Bronco Reggie Rivers and a regular columnist for the Denver Post writes,
If you're having trouble understanding the current redistricting fight in Colorado, try thinking about it in terms of a football team.As a rule, politicians hate elections the way pro football players hate training camp.
Both election season and training camp are arduous proving grounds during which you could suffer a physical or political injury; the talent of your competitors could expose weaknesses that get exploited later; or you could lose your job.
Ideally, politicians want to be like football stars who don't have to compete for their jobs every election season. They want guaranteed contracts, assurances that they'll be starters, and they want elections to be reduced to mere formalities they have to endure to get to the "regular season."
They can achieve this status through merit (that's the hard way) or they can use their power while in office to frame election rules or procedures so they're virtually guaranteed to get re-elected (that's the easy way).