Why We Should Remember to Sing the National Anthem

The news of Whitney Houston’s untimely death shocked the entertainment world this past weekend.  A woman of incredible talent, some of it viewed as squandered over the years, passed away in mysterious circumstances.  Truly sad and gut-wrenching stuff.

Yet the sports world also mourned.  To my surprise, the ESPN BottomLine (font of all knowledge), noted her death, reminding fans of Houston’s National Anthem performance 21 years ago before Super Bowl XXV.  Curious, I looked up the clip on YouTube.

I will state pure fact: her rendition is the best national anthem at an American sporting event.  Her expression, tone, dynamics (volume), and power blew me away during what is one of the toughest songs to sing, even more so on the biggest sports day of the year.  My immediate thought: “our national anthem should be sung that way every time.  In fact everyone should sing it, period.”

Ask yourself when you last went to a game and sang the entire anthem from the stands.  Some of you I know sing always, but have there also not been times when you feel strange belting out “O say…” because the lady with the fanny pack and visor in the next row turns around and stares at you?  We all have felt that way at some point, regardless of how deep our patriotism and seats at a game.

To be straight, I do not doubt anyone’s patriotism because they do not sing for every game.  However, I find it strange American sports fans are more excited to chant key words of the anthem rather than the whole song.  A short list of my familiar teams will demonstrate my point:

Orioles fans scream “OH” at the start of the second “Oh say…”

Virginia student intone “HOOS” during “whose broad stripes…”

Caps fans shout “RED” at “the rocket’s red glare” (as if they are the only NHL team with red as a primary color)

Are these cheers fun?  Yes.  At the same time, are they also a little silly?  Yes.  For whatever reason, the collective psyche encourages Americans to inject their own local teams into the national anthem and, if no witty ways of doing so present themselves, to not sing the anthem at all.  But, if you really must, do so under your breath for fear of disturbing Fanny Pack over there.

Watch most international sports and see the opposite effect.  Every Englishman sings “God Save the Queen” at English Premiership matches (even so at the yearly NFL game in Wembley).  In Edmonton, the singer points his microphone aloft after the first phrase and the crowd leads on.  Wouldn’t such a practice be somewhat anathema to most Americans?  I do not think Canadian or British patriotism runs deeper than that of American spectators, but sadly we do not feel compelled to give our country the fully proper due at the start of a game.

Thirty seconds of Whitney Houston singing to millions, in the context of the Persian Gulf War at the time, shows how exciting our anthem can be.  The mere fact folks discuss that 2 minutes of music twenty-one years later displays the remarkable power Americans can gain from The Star Spangled Banner.  I do not think times are good enough for us now to where we can prioritize Fanny Pack’s comfort level over giving the anthem, and by association our country, its full due.  We are blessed to be here and to be given the opportunities to watch football, much less go to an actual game.  We should never forget that…the least we can do is sing when the PA asks us to “stand and remove your hats (or visors).”

Bit #1 – New Evidence of God in DC sports

From Achilles to Tebow athletes have long believed a supernatural influence exerts itself in sports.  Without opening up a Pandora’s box of spiteful comments from the religious among you, I think it fair to say many athletes quickly thank God publicly for wins and not for losses (for obvious reasons).  He rarely comes up in post-loss interviews.

Not so this week if you’re a Caps fan.  In two of three games, Caps opponents have scored goals from beyond the red line (equivalent of a half-court shot in basketball).  Dustin Byfuglien of the Jets scored with a few seconds left in the game on what would normally be a routine dump-and-chase play.  Last night, the Sharks’ Joe Pavelski scored from center ice, almost in identical position as Byfuglien.

You could go years without seeing one of these, so to see in two in three games truly makes me pause.  While I doubt the man upstairs would care enough about the Caps to engineer losses in such fashion, Caps fans may want to consider if there is a hidden message: wait til next season when fate (or God) resets allegiances.

Bit #2 – Requisite long memory for college basketball and an early sleeper pick

The NCAA Tournament starts four weeks from now when the field of 64 begins play.  College basketball requires a spectator to possess a long memory.  Non-conference matchups haven’t happened since December, meaning many teams that looked good then might be sliding as we approach the Dance (UConn) or vice versa (Michigan State).

Be that as it may, don’t lose sight of Long Beach State.  The 49ers have made no buzz since Christmas, but remain on track to sweep their conference schedule.  And, when playing ranked opponents this season, the 49ers beat then-top 15 schools Pitt and Xavier while losing to UNC and Kansas by a combined 16 points.

Bit #3 – Occupy “White” Street?

On Tuesday morning Falcons wide receiver Roddy White tweeted that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made too much money.  According to White, “How in the hell can u pay a man this much money that cant run tackle or catch.”  Goodell will make $20 million per season.

While that is a gaudy number, Goodell ultimately heads an organization that recently stopped labor to figure out how to divvy up a whole lot of money in profits.  Certainly the players make the league great, but without good administration the league wouldn’t enjoy its current popularity.  I ask Roddy, “how the hell can u pay yourself $8.3 million when you can only run and catch?”

Bit #4 – The true value of Jeremy Lin

Playing fantasy basketball this season has opened my eyes to the different values a player can bring his team.  Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin provides a fascinating example.  I will not sneeze at his 26.8 points per game over the last five games, but I find his value to be deeper than that.  Seemingly unbeknownst to the casual observer, Lin averaged 8 assists and 2 steals over the same period.  While the wider world coos at Lin’s scoring numbers, keep in mind he shot 8 of 24 in the last game against Minnesota.  Ultimately, I think his shooting touch will fall as perimeter defenses figure him out, but if his assist numbers stay the same we can expect a heavy dosage of Lin-sanity for the next little while.

Bit #5: February 12, 1982 – Gretzky ties points record in a season

Many of us in my generation look at the NHL today with offensive stars like Crosby, Datsyuk, etc. and wonder if we are seeing the best ever.  Short answer: not even close.  Just over 30 years ago the Great One tied the NHL season scoring record against the much-maligned Washington Capitals.  The astounding aspect of this: Gretzky tied the record with 24 games remaining!  He went on to the best statistical season in NHL history with 92 goals and 212 points, both still records.