Patriotism In Sports

Last week at the NCAA Championship game, we witnessed one of the most talked about performances of the national anthem. The Fray displayed their creative interpretation of the song that is known for starting sporting events nationwide. The Fray received a lot of negative exposure for their performance from sports media all over. And the main gripe was that it built no excitement in the crowd, did not bring the emotion into the building that we have all came to expect from the national anthem.

The history of the national anthem and sports goes way back to the 1800’s. There is no exact date recorded as the first time it was played but the sports of baseball pioneered the use of this tradition of playing the song to open the event. Throughout the early part of the 20^th century, the sport of baseball continued to use the song to build momentum leading into games and along the way made memorable moments that will stick in the minds of baseball fans everywhere, including Babe Ruth’s NY Yankees in the playoffs.

Following September 11, 2001 the sporting community seemed to come together with the use of the national anthem performed at sporting events. When the NFL came back after a week off, there were incredibly touching renditions of the anthems performed at stadiums across the country.

The United States is the home of the sport of basketball, and the home of the “Dream Team”. The patriotism in basketball during the Olympics is almost palpable as the best players in the world play together for the same team, for their country. But basketball has also been the home to the most notarized controversies when it comes to the national anthem.

Here at home, there was the controversy of Brandon Roy not being on the floor for the song in 2008. There have been multiple reports, mainly from college basketball, of players refusing to stand up or participating in the tradition. And most recently, the terrible performance at the national championship game.

What happened to the days, where a team could collectively stand together, with their hands on their hearts, preparing for the game?

Basketball, in particular, has evolved into a game that is so ego, player driven that it’s “all about them.” To them, the national anthem is not about a team or a nation coming together, it’s just a chore before the game. One of my personal pet peeves is that no one puts their hands on their hearts anymore, but I guess it all comes down to a personal choice. The hands behind the back, rocking look has become more the norm.

This tradition continues to happen across the country, but for some reason I feel that we have lost the connection and loyalty that we once had to this song. This is the nation that has stood for sporting advancement and excellence and continues to produce some of the nations best. So here’s to patriotism in sports.

Back to my pet peeve, I’d like to thank Luke Babbitt and Coach Kaleb Canales for being the lone two people on the floor for the Blazers, for putting their hand on their hearts during the national anthem.