I listen to a local sports radio station religiously. This morning one of the co-hosts of the morning show were outraged that six young men in their rooting section did not remove their hats during the national anthem.
The "National Exaggeration" was first played during the 1918 World Series - and it was played by mistake. To put this in perspective, the National League was founded in 1876 - forty-two years before the "Star Spangled Banner" was ever played at a sporting event. The "Star Spangled Banner" wasn't even officially declared the official national anthem until 1931 - fifty-five years after the first National League game was played. By 1941, the practice of playing the anthem before sporting events had achieved nearly universal status - sixty-five years after the first National League game was played. It related news, it may surprise you that the words "In God We Trust" didn't appear on American paper money until 1957. Religion has no place on our currency and mindless displays of patriotism have no place at sporting events. And, Wicket, I have the same disdain for you as I have for people who are supposed to have their heads bowed and their eyes closed during prayer: if their heads were down and their eyes were closed, they wouldn't be able to see my head wasn't bowed and my eyes were open. Ditto for you...if your hat was off and you were fully engaged in your shared expression of National pride, you would not have been able to see who was or was not wearing a hat. By the by, my national anthem is "Soul Finger" by the Bar-Kays.
