Question about a football game
When football returns,will everyone go back to putting their hand their heart while the StarSpangle Banner is played/performed?
shareI prefer they stop playing national anthems before sporting events.
share
MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Question about a football game
Not everyone.
shareWhen you think about it, why do we do this??? Why is the national anthem played before sporting events??
shareAhh, the hand over the heart.
I've never actually done that while singing The Star-Spangled Banner.
When I was in elementary school in New York City back in the late 50's and early 60's, we were taught that you place your right hand over your heart when you say the Pledge of Allegiance, and that you stand at attention, out of respect, when you sing the National Anthem. After all, the National Anthem is really just a song about what occurred at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, while the Pledge of Allegiance is a solemn oath.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America,
and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation, under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all."
Powerful words for a child to learn, but sadly, as you get older, you begin to realize that that last line doesn't always seem to apply.
It is, however, something to aspire to, for we should have a nation that provides, and not just stands for, "liberty and justice for all."
What's interesting is the original 1892 version went like this:
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands,
one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
The version recited today was adopted in 1954.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance
adding more fun....
they used the bellamy salute instead of the hand over heart
something like this:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Students_pledging_allegiance_to_the_American_flag_with_the_Bellamy_salute.jpg
Wow! I can see why they changed it.
shareI assume they won't show it on TV just like they did last year. It's up to the spectators to do what they feel is appropriate - none of my business.
Why not play it? It's a tradition and I see no reason to change it.
It a shitty song and a stupid tradition. Guess I’m not very patriotic.
shareI must be unpatriotic, too, because I don't care for it, either. A song inspired by a war? Not my choice for a national anthem.
"America the Beautiful" or "God Bless America" would make better anthems, IMO.
I’m with ya, jk...I’m not a god-fearing person but god bless America is a much better song and America the beautiful ain’t too bad either....star spangled banner just too damn long....Canada got it right, short and sweet, even learned to like it through my casual hockey viewing and occasional attendance...it’s over faster than an Al MacInnis slap shot (damn, I need to update my hockey references, lol)...
shareThe French have the best national anthem.
shareOn pure auditory appeal, the French and Mexican national anthems are very enjoyable, mostly because I don’t speak either language very well...but both, as you probably know, are quite bellicose and sanguinary in their respective messages, which probably makes it all the more glorious for those who love those songs... but, hey, I admit, I can be caught humming each of those songs from time to time; no point in letting some jingoistic, saber-rattling composer -who was probably ordered to do such- get in the way of good music...
shareFor those who wonder about the tradition of beginning sporting events with the singing of The Star-Spangled Banner, it all began during the first game of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox back in 1918, when the song was played during the seventh-inning stretch of that game. This occurred when the U.S. was fighting in World War I.
Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, noticing the positive effect the song had on the crowd, then decided to open each game in Boston with the song. Thus the tradition was born. It is important to remember that all this happened before The Star-Spangled Banner was adopted as our National Anthem in 1931.
Let us also remember that The Star-Spangled Banner borrowed its rather difficult melody from 'To Anacreon In Heaven', a British song about boozing and womanizing.
I'll drink to that! ;-)
Cheers!
sharehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydAIdVKv84g
shareThanks for posting To Anacreon In Heaven, hownos.
I got a big laugh reading the comments.