Oh say can you see

[Armchair_QB]

Bingo. Isn't the anthem less than two minutes long?

Ideally, two minutes should be the high end. Ninty seconds would be better. It's a patriotic drinking song ... not a funeral dirge, country ballad or operatic number.

If you must embellish, there can be only one:

This one's pretty good too.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

The anthem should only be played before international sporting events. It actually serves some sort of purpose in that regard.

 

[Nathan Scott Phillips]

i have never heard the reasoning on why they play it before all games, does anyone know?

Because they've been doing it that way since World War I. There's maybe a hundred people alive who have attended an MLB game when they didn't play the anthem, so unless you can find a good reason NOT to do it, it's here to stay.

heck, there's not a whole lot of people alive who can remember when the Star-Spangled Banner actually became the anthem (1931, for those keeping score.)

It's part of the pomp and circumstance of opening a new game, like announcing the starters and exchanging lineup cards.

Yankee Stadium used to play America the Beautiful instead on occasion back in the 1980s. They still might do it, but it's been a while since I saw a regular season game there.

 

[blondebomber]

I stand for the anthem if I realize it's playing. I don't stand for the pre-event prayer.

A pre-event prayer?

I'd snap if some high school tried that shirt.

What a good guest you must be.

And even though I'm Jewish, when I attend a Catholic wedding I ALWAYS receive communion. Don't want to offend anybody.

 

[PHINJ]

I stand for the anthem if I realize it's playing. I don't stand for the pre-event prayer.

A pre-event prayer?

I'd snap if some high school tried that shirt.

What a good guest you must be.

And even though I'm Jewish, when I attend a Catholic wedding I ALWAYS receive communion. Don't want to offend anybody.

Really? Blonde, I'd be shocked if you would offend anyone for not receiving Communion. Frankly you are not supposed to receive it if you haven't gone through the previous sacraments and if you haven't recently confessed. It's for that reason that I don't take Communion at wedding Mass.

 

[blondebomber]

I stand, address the flag and place my right hand over my heart.

If I'm wearing a hat, I take the hat off and hold it in my right hand over my heart.

It's the national anthem. That's what you're supposed to do.

I learned while covering an American Legion regional baseball tournament -- from the American Legion national president, no less -- you are NOT supposed to cheer at the end of the Star Spangled Banner. It should be treated like a church psalm, with solemnity.

 

[blondebomber]

I stand for the anthem if I realize it's playing. I don't stand for the pre-event prayer.

A pre-event prayer?

I'd snap if some high school tried that shirt.

What a good guest you must be.

And even though I'm Jewish, when I attend a Catholic wedding I ALWAYS receive communion. Don't want to offend anybody.

Really? Blonde, I'd be shocked if you would offend anyone for not receiving Communion. Frankly you are not supposed to receive it if you haven't gone through the previous sacraments and if you haven't recently confessed. It's for that reason that I don't take Communion at wedding Mass.

No, not really. I was joking. Nor should I have to stand if someone comes over a loud speaker at a public event and starts delivering a Christian invocation.

 

[Nathan Scott Phillips]

I stand, address the flag and place my right hand over my heart.

If I'm wearing a hat, I take the hat off and hold it in my right hand over my heart.

It's the national anthem. That's what you're supposed to do.

I learned while covering an American Legion regional baseball tournament -- from the American Legion national president, no less -- you are NOT supposed to cheer at the end of the Star Spangled Banner. It should be treated like a church psalm, with solemnity.

I've always thought there should be more cheering in churches.

 

[bigpern23]

Bingo. Isn't the anthem less than two minutes long?

Ideally, two minutes should be the high end. Ninty seconds would be better. It's a patriotic drinking song ... not a funeral dirge, country ballad or operatic number.

If you must embellish, there can be only one:

This one's pretty good too.

This was always my favorite.

 

[Football_Bat]

Oh say, can you see, my eyes? If you can, then my hair's too short!

 

[BigRed]

I clench my fists, shut my eyes and recite passages from the Quran.

No. No. I just stand and put my hand or hat on my left breast.

Has anyone dealt with multiple renditions at one event? I see that quite a bit these days. I've seen where they'll do back-to-back games and have two anthems for those who didn't attend the first game. I was at a softball game that started an hour before the baseball game. The umps stopped play when the anthem began 30 yards away on the baseball field.

I saw that two weeks ago at the NIT semifinals in New York. No big deal, really.
As for the anthem, both of my grandfathers and my father served in the US military, so I stand, hand over heart, facing the flag, as a measure of respect.
I can't stand people who talk during the anthem. It's two minutes, and even if you have an early deadline, budget your time so you can show some class and respect.
In my neck of the woods, people in the crowd sing the anthem softly at my major D-I school. That's fine, too.
I'm not the most patriotic or right-wing person, but give respect where it's due.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Take a bow, Bat.