I think we can all agree that the odds six months ago of Rick Santorum being one of the Final Four in the race to become the Republican Presidential nominee were pretty unlikely. His polling numbers hovered around 3 percent and his fundraising was sorely lagging behind his competitors.
Then came Iowa and Santorum enjoyed a boost in polling and became a household name almost overnight.
Others claim his popularity can be attributed to an intense work ethic, a dedication to core conservative values and a general likeability factor.
But I know the truth.
It’s the vest.
The country began to take notice of Santorum’s now iconic trademark sweater vest back in Iowa, where he tireless campaigned through all 99 counties. Voters may have liked what the former Pennsylvania Senator said, and considering his eventual win in Iowa, it was clear they did, it was the sweater vest that had them talking.
Santorum told the LA Times in January “[the vest] sort of took a life of its own…and the vest gave me this power.” It gave him so much power that within 24 hours of nearly winning the Iowa caucuses, he (and the vest) raised $1 million. You can own your very own Santorum sweater vest by donating $100 (or more!) to his campaign. The sweater vest has inspired a twitter page, a tumblr page, and a profile from The New York Times.
That’s a lot for an article of clothing more likely to be seen on your math teacher than the President of the United States.
Of course, the Santorum sweater vest is not the first to receive serious media attention. Nor was it the first to motivate fans to rock their own. Former Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel had been donning his own vest for over 20 years, since his coaching days at Youngstown State. Nicknamed “The Vest” by various sportscasters, Tressel’s signature item inspired a “Fear the Vest” ad campaign: posters, shirts, facebook groups. Ohio State fans wanted their opponents to know that they should, in fact, “fear the vest.”
Despite a not-so-sunny ending to Tressel’s legendary ten year OSU football career, he did win five Big 10 titles, a National Championship, 5 BCS bowl games and 8 wins against the University of Michigan.
If Santorum can mimic the success from wearing a sweater vest to Jim Tressel, it’s not a bad ambition, minus the whole NCAA violations and resignation. As long as Terrelle Pryor isn’t working for his campaign, I think he’s safe. And considering his wins in Alabama and Mississippi last night, he’s well on his way to sweater vest victory.
So we have two men, both Midwestern, both football fans, both sweater vest wearing icons. Which is going to go down as the most feared vest of all time?
