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I can recall reading about that famous conversation between Ben Franklin and John Adams when they determined that the nation would be doomed in The National Anthem was not played at sports events.
That's not the point and you know it. The Left is attacking anything that shows patriotism or pride in this country. This is just another example.
Another thing that the un-American un-patriotic left wants to do to disrespect the country.
To the Left burning the flag is a demonstration of patriotism No surprise the were the ones spitting on American soldiers in Vietnam. They should have been spitting on LBJ considering he was responsible for 90% of the deaths there.
It's a pretty silly tradition. It's great to play the national anthem in international matches, I don't know why a Tuesday night match between New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers needs to be injected with patriotism. It's almost as ridiculous as the pledge of allegiance.
It should have been argued loudly from the start that refusal to stand for the anthem and flag is just dumb. The anthem and flag represent the American ideals
no, demanding everybody parrot the same physical actions like this is red square is dumb, and misses the point of american ideals.
military does formation, civilians in a free country do not need to.
honestly, sometimes the treatment of the flag (im not calling for arbitrary disrespect to it) borders on theocracy.
big picture-- american ideals are no titles-- no king-- and a free people. id rather salute the constitution. if people knelt instead in protest of illegal laws that are unconstitutional-- guess what? the point of the constitution is to NOT tell everybody what they have to do.
of course, the sports leagues are businesses, and businesses have customers.
im not taking a side in the kneel/stand thing-- players should know if they go against what the teams management wants, they can lose their jobs or rank.
fans are customers, telling customers how to act in response to a symbol of freedom is dumb. though the fans seem to hate the protests, and the primary goal of these businesses is to make money, not give the players a political platform. which it does either way, they can use their fame to spread their message, though the routine defiance is going to do what? force the management to comply with something? of course not.
I remember a time when Toronto Maple Leaf games at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto were preceded by a wheezy old recording of "O Canada." The same happened when Toronto got the Blue Jays. Note I said "a wheezy old recording." No "Star Spangled Banner," wheezy or not. No matter; all of us fans were "just get this over with, and start the game."
I watched a Calgary Flames game the other night. It was a home game for the Flames who were playing a US-based team (don't ask me which), so they had a colour guard from the Calgary Police Service (CPS), carrying both US and Canadian flags, out on the red carpet, and a live singer, who sang both the US and Canadian anthems. The game finally got underway ten to fifteen minutes after the scheduled start, thanks to the pomp and circumstance. I will say that CPS did themselves proud.
Just play the damn game, and cut the forced patriotism. Americans may love their national anthem, and Canadians may love their flag (and vice-versa), but sports fans just want to see the game. I'm sure as hell not standing at attention at the sports bar during all this rigamarole--more likely, I'm visiting the men's room, so I don't have to visit the men's room during the first period of the hockey game.
Just play the damn game, and cut the forced patriotism.
alas, its not that simple in the states. the athletes are insanely superstitious, the fans are too, removing a song that traditionally plays before the game-- while practical and minor relief to many would basically be a declaration of war.
sarah palin and ann coulter would have new books out within a week. tucker carlson would be able to buy a beach house just from doing vlogs with patreon, and trumps reelection would be determined by the first game without an anthem. which doesnt bother me, though you would pretty much have handed him a second term with this.
I enjoy the anthem before a game. There's no law that says you have to stand for it. It's all social pressure, and it's nice to see social pressure for something positive like pride in country, which we are so sorely lacking lately. So much social pressure is for things destructive towards society lately. But really a USA Today opinion piece is nothing to get worked up over. They have no moral authority that I know of or recognize.
I wonder how majority of people would feel if they started talking about Govt paying the NFL to be 'more patriotic' in its games? Since when could patriotism be bought and paid for?!
What does patriotism have to do with sports Anyway? This isn’t the olympics. Just play the game and lets not get into all of this stupidity.
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No surprise the were the ones spitting on American soldiers in Vietnam. They should have been spitting on LBJ considering he was responsible for 90% of the deaths there.
