There we are. We finally have sports. Something to take our thoughts away from the everyday turmoil of our nation. I was SO ready for sports that I even agreed to watch baseball. That’s kind of a big deal for me. But then they did it… putting political messages all over everything and two teams kneeling during the anthem.
I won’t discuss the fact that they got where they are because they were good at throwing and hitting a ball, not because of their woke enlightenment. Not because of their superior intellect. Because they were born with and perfected a superior ability of hand-eye coordination.
I won’t discuss whether or not they even know why they’re kneeling. What the message is.
I won’t discuss police brutality and whether or not you think it’s an epidemic or not. That’s for another day.
Today I’m only talking about the vehicle chosen to protest. Do they have the right? Yes. And the consumer has the right to cease spending money on tickets too. Picking the right moment for the right audience is paramount for getting a message out that you believe is important.
So we pick the national anthem. There can only be one of two reasons why.
Reason #1- you hate America. To those, I’m sure there are great real estate agents that can get them top dollar for their homes and they can move to another country.
Reason #2- it’s a huge platform that can get the attention of a large audience. But again, is this the audience you want to appeal to?
We all remember the story of Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks (now referred to as three persons of non-specific gender or region) and her decision to tell people in London how bad she hated our president (W at the time). On the surface, that doesn’t sound like a big deal. I happen to personally know a musician that was on that stage with her that night standing right behind her and it didn’t strike him or any other band members as a big deal. Just Natalie being Natalie. The problem was that the people who bought their albums and bought tickets to their shows were huge fans of “God-fearing Republicans”, which W was just that. It caused their career to implode overnight. And it seems here recently a certain group of people forgot that story and seem destined to repeat it.
And here we are, watching people protest during a song. But what do they know about that song? Obviously not much. A close friend of mine discussed the lyrics a few years back. I’m going to discuss the resolve of the writer and the audience of the protesters. Quick history…
British ships were intercepting American ships that were on their way to France to provide supplies. Britain still had this superiority complex that they could just do whatever they wanted to Americans. President James Madison has people in his ear that basically say, “Are you going to stand for this or do something about it?” Could he have chosen a diplomatic route? Possibly. But just 30 years earlier the Americans learned that diplomacy wasn’t something Britain was used to. The British like to do what they wanted when they wanted.
So there’s this lawyer who has a knack for excellent poetic writing. He is outraged when he learns that President Madison has declared war on the British. He felt it could have and should have been handled diplomatically. The vote to go to war was the closest ever, proving that the country was very divided on this issue. Francis Scott Key began using his national platform, expressing his disgust of Madison and his outright protest of this “unjust war”. He. Was. Angry.
So Britain obliges. They bring the fight to Ft. McHenry. Key was given permission from the President to negotiate the release of a prisoner. He boards a British ship and while they are negotiating, the fight intensifies. Key is not allowed to leave the boat for a couple of reasons.
So he was relegated to sit back and watch from a distance. The next morning, he began asking questions, (paraphrased) “Can you see?… at dawn?… is it the same flag we proudly posted last night? … the one with stripes and stars… it made it through the fight? but I watched our land get hit with a flurry of shells?… but I saw that British red powder flying through the air behind all of those bombs? Somehow through all of that our flag was still there? WHAT?! … Well I’ll be damned! It’s still waving over the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
What Key saw that night was shell after shell being hurled (approximately 1 per minute, which was a lot back then) at his country. The same country he was PROTESTING. The same country he was angry with for even being in this conflict. He watched in horror thinking the worst. It completely shocked him to find the flag still standing there.
See, in the midst of his anger and protest, this was still HIS country. He still loved America. He was just angry at President Madison and those that voted to enter the conflict. If the story of this song tells us anything, it’s that even in the midst of disagreement, we’re still Americans. This is still OUR country. So protesting this tune, written by this guy, who was protesting America, makes ZERO sense.
And then there’s that issue of audience. Most sports lovers really don’t care what their favorite athlete thinks about law enforcement. They want to cheer on their team and enjoy sports. If you feel the need to protest something, there’s nothing wrong with that. But make sure you at least consider what you’re protesting and who it will alienate in the process. The latest antics by the woke sports mob will only hurt. It will only continue to divide. The NFL and NBA TV ratings were at an all-time low prior to covid. We look to sports as an escape… not more political rhetoric. If we want that, we’ll just hop on Facebook… followed by lots of prayer and anti-depressants!
Stay Classy GP!
Grainger