Whatley, Cooper and the Canes

Now that the Carolina Hurricanes have won the Stanley Cup, they may win the U.S. Senate race for Roy Cooper.

It’s not just that Cooper’s Republican opponent, Michael Whatley, face-planted on the ice when he claimed to be a big Canes fan, but couldn’t name a single player until prompted by an aide.

It’s not just that Cooper is a genuine, long-time Caniac who wore his 2006 Stanley Cup shirt when he greeted fans tailgating in 98-degree heat last week.

More important, Cooper is “Senior Canes Correspondent” for the popular Ovies+Giglio local sports podcast.

Watch this clip of Cooper on OG - one guest calls him “Senator” - analyzing the win at Lenovo Center that put the Canes up 3-2 in the finals.

Cooper clearly knows hockey and the Canes.

OG could be the Joe Rogan of this election.

Rogan - whose Spotify podcast is seen by millions, mostly young men - endorsed Donald Trump in 2024 after a three-hour interview.

Democrats have agonized over whether Kamala Harris should have gone on his show - and how to get their own competing podcast.

Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio are long-time Triangle sports reporters who started the OG podcast after being laid off from their 99.9 The Fan radio show.

They have 13,000 subscribers, and their post-game podcast with Cooper was viewed over 10,000 times.

Elections are won and lost by numbers like that.

Whatley’s clumsy own goal was his first introduction to many voters.

It started when his campaign posted an AI image of Canes players that didn’t resemble any real players.

Reporter Bryan Anderson of The Assembly pressed Whatley - puckishly, if you will - at a press conference.

Let Anderson tell it:

When I asked who his three favorite players are, Whatley replied, “You know, I think we like them all.”

“Don’t have a favorite player?” I followed up.

“Look, I think that that’s a team that’s loaded,” he continued. “They’re playing offense really well”….

I gave him one final opportunity to demonstrate his fandom as he wrapped up his 8-minute gaggle with reporters: ‘Last chance: Can you name one Hurricanes player?’

An exasperated Whatley gave a thumbs up and walked away. “Thanks, guys, appreciate it very much.”

Within two minutes, North Carolina Republican Party spokesman Matt Mercer intercepted Whatley and pulled me to the side to get an answer from the candidate.

“Jaccob Slavin,” Whatley said, before I could utter a word. “I think that this is a guy who has an outspoken faith in God. He works hard every single day and kind of represents the best of the sport.”

“Did anyone tell you to say Jaccob Slavin?” I asked.

“Nope, we’re good,” Whatley said.

Whatley should have just said, “I haven’t been a big hockey guy, but it’s great when a North Carolina team plays for a championship.”

But he did what too many politicians try too hard to do: pretend to be a normal person.

By definition, they aren’t normal people.

It can happen to the best.

My boss, the late Governor Jim Hunt, once had a narrow escape.

He was down East, being interviewed on a local radio station that was sponsoring a Beach Music Festival.

“I love beach music,” Hunt enthused.

“That’s great, Governor! What’s your favorite beach music song?”

Hunt, who likely didn’t know beach music from the Beatles, could only offer, “Well, I love beach music.”

“Okay, we’ll play that,” and the station promptly cued up the Embers’ classic “I Love Beach Music.”

Whatley wishes he was so lucky.

An assist goes to my friend Jim Phillips, the Greensboro super-lawyer, for recalling this Jim Hunt story. Phillips went to work for Governor Hunt right out of UNC, helping with appointments to boards and commissions. He’s responsible for getting Roy Cooper, his college classmate, appointed to his first public position, on the State Goals and Policy Board, in 1979. The rest is history.