Does Rush Really Believe?

I listen to Rush Limbaugh, not because I agree with his views, but because he represents a voice in America that I think is important to understand.

The past week has been particularly interesting to me as a person who has worked for the NFL and, in particular, for the St. Louis Rams. I helped to relocate the team from Los Angeles in 1995 after assisting a group that sought to attract an NFL expansion team to the area. Having a team in St. Louis has a tremendously positive effect on the region's psyche -- particularly during the Greatest Show on Turf days of 1999-2001.

Limbaugh's brief involvement in a possible bid for the ownership of the Rams has stirred many conversations here and around the country. Race, politics, interpretation and misinterpretation of dialogue .... The merits of owners who will work to keep the team in the St. Louis region (one of whom is a controversial entertainer) versus other possible contenders. Civic debate about what price you pay to keep your team. Free speech... The question that keeps coming back to me, does Rush really believe everything he says or is some of it entertainment? In listening live to yesterday's show, I thought I heard him say he believed in second chances (and perhaps starting a new). Was he somehow alluding to his own fresh start?

Having had the opportunity to work for the late Georgia Frontiere, one of few women owners in professional sports, and a woman I greatly respected, I heard and saw first hand the challenges she faced in the sports business world. I wonder how she might feel about this today? After all, it is a business first and foremost.

It used to be that sports were relatively untainted by the issues of the day. However, be it steroid use or minority hiring, sports have become an interesting playing field and lightning rod for politics and issues ... and it leads me to wonder... does Rush really believe??