He had overstayed his welcome at his first home. They were tired of his self-centered act. He was not a dependable member of the team. While the team goal was winning, his priority always seemed to be making sure that the spotlight followed him whereever he went, even if that was not in the same direction the team was heading.
But when he came to town and joined our team, there were cheers everywhere. He was what we needed to push us over the top. He was the last component on a team that had already tasted victory but just needed a little push to get to the ultimate goal. He was going to be the missing piece.
And for awhile, it looked like that might be true. He was a team player, maybe even the best team player. Fans adored him. They sang songs about him. And the team piled up wins. All was bright and beautiful and it was the best of times.
But at the peak of the season, when his team needed him the most, he disappeared. Some small nagging injuries popped up, then something bigger. The team still won, but it wasn't the same. When he tried to come back in the final game, it looked like the team was out of sync. Nothing was working. The team lost.
The next season, he started off saying he wanted more money, a revised contract because he had been so good the past season. He started talking about his teammates, blaming the team's failure at the end of last season on them. He started skipping practice. He was suspended. And a few months later, he was gone for good, taking his show to another town.
That story was about a football free agent.
There are free agents in politics, too. One of them is now a US Senator from Pennsylvania who is running in the Democratic Primary this May. For 30 years he was a Republican until he saw that the Republicans would probably not vote for him in their primary. So he ran to the Democrats and was embraced.
If you want to draw parallels, be my guest.
