ESPN Panelist Calls National Anthem A "War Anthem"

[rightwinger]

Using pogo's rational it could very easily be a fireworks display. If you want to be a retard it can easily mistaken for that.

I guess one has to know the friggen story behind the song to really understand it's motivations.


I don't think it exhibits a love for warfare. More like a love for freedom.


But that is why the song was chosen anyway.


It's clear that the song is an example of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

If you have a problem with America I can see why you would have reservations about it's anthem.

And voicing opposition to it would most likely result in a serious ass-whipping if in mixed company.

Nobody loves war

The song was written during the War or 1812 and celebrates a brave stand by US forces against a British bombardment. It is a war song set to music to a British drinking song

America the Beautiful is an ode to America
Our National Anthem celebrates a military victory

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Key is not writing about a piece of cloth but the fact that glimpses of that flag told him that Ft McHenry was holding out.

It is our National Anthem and we love it. But it is a strange choice of song.

 

[mudwhistle]

Using pogo's rational it could very easily be a fireworks display. If you want to be a retard it can easily mistaken for that.

I guess one has to know the friggen story behind the song to really understand it's motivations.


I don't think it exhibits a love for warfare. More like a love for freedom.


But that is why the song was chosen anyway.


It's clear that the song is an example of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

If you have a problem with America I can see why you would have reservations about it's anthem.

And voicing opposition to it would most likely result in a serious ass-whipping if in mixed company.

Nobody loves war

The song was written during the War or 1812 and celebrates a brave stand by US forces against a British bombardment. It is a war song set to music to a British drinking song

America the Beautiful is an ode to America
Our National Anthem celebrates a military victory

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Symbolism must be really confusing for you......lol.

Unless it's spelled out in intimate detail and accompanied by links to explain it all, I guess you're lost.


I must be getting under your skin if you're resorting to half-witted name changes.

*SpockSmoker*

Pathetic........

 

[daveman]

Using pogo's rational it could very easily be a fireworks display. If you want to be a retard it can easily mistaken for that.

I guess one has to know the friggen story behind the song to really understand it's motivations.


I don't think it exhibits a love for warfare. More like a love for freedom.


But that is why the song was chosen anyway.


It's clear that the song is an example of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

If you have a problem with America I can see why you would have reservations about it's anthem.

And voicing opposition to it would most likely result in a serious ass-whipping if in mixed company.

Nobody loves war

The song was written during the War or 1812 and celebrates a brave stand by US forces against a British bombardment. It is a war song set to music to a British drinking song

America the Beautiful is an ode to America
Our National Anthem celebrates a military victory

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Speaking of metaphors, I believe the flag in the Anthem is a metaphor for the United States...despite Britain's best efforts, the flag still stood.

 

[Pogo]

Nobody loves war

The song was written during the War or 1812 and celebrates a brave stand by US forces against a British bombardment. It is a war song set to music to a British drinking song

America the Beautiful is an ode to America
Our National Anthem celebrates a military victory

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Key is not writing about a piece of cloth but the fact that glimpses of that flag told him that Ft McHenry was holding out.

It is our National Anthem and we love it. But it is a strange choice of song.

Ah but the flag is entirely the object, start to finish: "can you see what so proudly we hailed" IS the flag. So is "does that star spangled banner yet wave" in the last sentence of the first verse. Even if you take the entire lyrics:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The whole poem/song is entirely about the flag itself. A brief diversion to a "band" but then right back home to the cloth.

Nothing wrong with that (and we don't get poetry like that any more)

But it's a strange decision that we pick this, rather than, say, America the Beautiful, for a national anthem.

The pledge does the same thing: "I pledge allegiance to the flag" -- the republic is an afterthought. The rest of the world doesn't do this.

Curious.

To reconnect with the topic -- would the TV commentor have expressed the same sentiment if our anthem was America the Beautiful-- even if it still got played before sporting events?
Or would the anthem even be played at those events if that were the case? IOW how would it change how we view our country?

Discuss...

 

[Pogo]

Nobody loves war

The song was written during the War or 1812 and celebrates a brave stand by US forces against a British bombardment. It is a war song set to music to a British drinking song

America the Beautiful is an ode to America
Our National Anthem celebrates a military victory

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Symbolism must be really confusing for you......lol.

Unless it's spelled out in intimate detail and accompanied by links to explain it all, I guess you're lost.


I must be getting under your skin if you're resorting to half-witted name changes.

*SpockSmoker*

Pathetic........

Hee hee. Like that?
You don't last long around here without a sense of humour.

 

[Trajan]

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Key is not writing about a piece of cloth but the fact that glimpses of that flag told him that Ft McHenry was holding out.

It is our National Anthem and we love it. But it is a strange choice of song.

Ah but the flag is entirely the object, start to finish: "can you see what so proudly we hailed" IS the flag. So is "does that star spangled banner yet wave" in the last sentence of the first verse. Even if you take the entire lyrics:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The whole poem/song is entirely about the flag itself. A brief diversion to a "band" but then right back home to the cloth.

Nothing wrong with that (and we don't get poetry like that any more)

But it's a strange decision that we pick this, rather than, say, America the Beautiful, for a national anthem.

The pledge does the same thing: "I pledge allegiance to the flag" -- the republic is an afterthought. The rest of the world doesn't do this.

Curious.

To reconnect with the topic -- would the TV commentor have expressed the same sentiment if our anthem was America the Beautiful-- even if it still got played before sporting events?
Or would the anthem even be played at those events if that were the case? IOW how would it change how we view our country?

Discuss...

-don't care
-I don't see why not
- not much I don't think



wasn't there a movment a while to back to change it to AtB? I could get down with that.

 

[Pogo]

Well at least someone ventured an answer

I don't know about a movement per se but it's been often suggested.

Anyone else -- do you think the idea of playing a national anthem before sports events has something to do with the nature of the anthem we have? Because there's no logical reason to be doing it...?

IOW If every baseball game began with America the Beautiful -- would more of us wonder "why are we doing this?"?

 

[Soulless65]

Yeah Kevin Blackstone should STFU and keep rooting the good old U.S of A and never ever give any opinions about how are the US is just bully around the world and fucks up 9/10 and treats its people like crap even those who wear the uniform of an Army,Marines,Air Force,Navy, and ect. He should just shut up and wear flag pin and drink his miller light and STFU right Mudwhistle

Ahh fuck you. Move to another country. This one is too good for you.

Ah yes the love it or leave it argument no thank you good sir when I still have all my Freedumbs.

NSA collects millions of e-mail address books globally - The Washington Post

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/us/federal-prosecutors-in-a-policy-shift-cite-warrantless-wiretaps-as-evidence.html

I could keep going but I made my point

 

[blackhawk]

ESPN panelist decries pre-game national anthem as ‘war anthem’

A panelist who appeared on a segment of ESPN’s “Around the Horn” discussion said sports games would be a lot better if they didn’t open with the National Anthem.

University of Maryland professor Kevin Blackstone made the comments during discussion of the new football uniforms at Northwestern University that have images of blood-spattered American flags, in honor of Wounded Warriors, The Blaze reported.


He said the country should quit playing the “war anthem” before athletic events — and also said the NFL has only furthered the “mythology” of Pat Tillman, an ex-Arizona Cardinals player who gave up his sports career to join the military, The Blaze said. Mr. Tillman was killed during service.

Read more: ESPN panelist decries pre-game national anthem as ?war anthem? - Washington Times
Follow us: [MENTION=39892]Was[/MENTION]htimes on Twitter
​

Yeah he also feels like Tony Romo is a elite NFL quarterback need I say more?

 

[gallantwarrior]

I wonder why it didn't translate to English. Some of the words are recognizable, and some of them translate from Czech, but most of them seem like gibberish.

like a lot of languages translation of exact words are not possible, they require as tudy homogenization based on tone, implication phraseology....ask Hillary- "reset" vis a vis "overcharge'... ...

Russian and Czech are not tonal languages though. What they are however is written in Cyrillic, so they'd have to be transliterated to Roman. I suspect that variance was what stumped Google Translate. Perhaps what was posted was phonetic but not standardized.

True about the tonal languages. Most of the Asian languages are tonals. But an exact transliteration from Cyrillic to English is difficult. I thought it was well enough done.

 

[gallantwarrior]

That's exactly what I mean -- theirs doesn't even get into battle until the third verse. We're in it on the first line (you don't have a reason to cite the flag waving without a battle).

As far as "oppression", there's no difference between an American fighting off an invader and a Russian fighting off an invader, so that's a wash. The only difference is ours has a specific reference.

In effect theirs is about the country, ours is about a specific battle and more specifically about a flag.
It's curious, this flag fetishism. No one else really has it.

Regardless, the song is about British oppression and how we stood up to it.

I imagine for most people they might appreciate that and give thanks that our forefathers stood up to them. We essentially had had enough of their abuse.

God Dammit, what's wrong with that????

Nobody said anything's "wrong" with that -- I just note that you describe the Russian passage as "aggression and oppression", even though there isn't even a specific battle mentioned. But as far as battle, both songs simply play defense of the homeland.

What's wrong with that?

Nothing. Which begs the question, why is the commentator cited in the OP declaring the National Anthem a "war song"?

 

[gallantwarrior]

Regardless, the song is about British oppression and how we stood up to it.

I imagine for most people they might appreciate that and give thanks that our forefathers stood up to them. We essentially had had enough of their abuse.

God Dammit, what's wrong with that????

Nobody said anything's "wrong" with that -- I just note that you describe the Russian passage as "aggression and oppression", even though there isn't even a specific battle mentioned. But as far as battle, both songs simply play defense of the homeland.

What's wrong with that?

I didn't say there was something wrong with it. Unless you take into account how the Reds treated those who defended the homeland. They used human waves only arming every other soldier with a weapon and the other with the bullets, taking up the weapon or bullets from the soldier that had fallen, and shooting any they felt were cowards when they tried to escape being slaughtered by Nazi machine gunners. The Reds killed more Russians than Germans did.

Other than that, what could be wrong????

That was done because the Russians simply did not have the resources to arm every single soldier. As usual, the little guy, the private on the front lines, gave their all. Do remember that a soldier does not die so much for love of country as they die for love of comrade.

 

[gallantwarrior]

None of that is in the song though. You injected it there. Matter of fact when you posted that it says "The USSR's is basically, "Let's kill those rotten bastards and gut them all like fish, murder their family, and shoot their worthless dog......." that was complete fabrication.

Not shit Sherlock.

So is the premise that our National Anthem is a evil thing. But that is the belief of the person mentioned in the OP.

Not shit indeed. So why make it up?

Back to the OP -- where does the guy say it's "evil"? Or make any value judgement? He says it's a "war anthem", which it is. So what? Again, why make up something that isn't there?

Further, the "buy"/"sell" routine is a sports point/counterpoint where you're supposed to take a stand. So this guy did, and another guy took the opposite stand. That's dialogue. Again, so what?

Now he does raise the question of why we play a national anthem at an (intranational) sports event. I do too.

I'll say it again...sports are nothing more than "war", pitting one "tribe" against another. Somewhat less bloody, but war nonetheless.

 

[Pogo]

ESPN panelist decries pre-game national anthem as ‘war anthem’

A panelist who appeared on a segment of ESPN’s “Around the Horn” discussion said sports games would be a lot better if they didn’t open with the National Anthem.

University of Maryland professor Kevin Blackstone made the comments during discussion of the new football uniforms at Northwestern University that have images of blood-spattered American flags, in honor of Wounded Warriors, The Blaze reported.


He said the country should quit playing the “war anthem” before athletic events — and also said the NFL has only furthered the “mythology” of Pat Tillman, an ex-Arizona Cardinals player who gave up his sports career to join the military, The Blaze said. Mr. Tillman was killed during service.

Read more: ESPN panelist decries pre-game national anthem as ?war anthem? - Washington Times
Follow us: [MENTION=39892]Was[/MENTION]htimes on Twitter
​

Yeah he also feels like Tony Romo is a elite NFL quarterback need I say more?

Oh really? Well fuck him then. That's going too far.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Using pogo's rational it could very easily be a fireworks display. If you want to be a retard it can easily mistaken for that.

I guess one has to know the friggen story behind the song to really understand it's motivations.


I don't think it exhibits a love for warfare. More like a love for freedom.


But that is why the song was chosen anyway.


It's clear that the song is an example of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

If you have a problem with America I can see why you would have reservations about it's anthem.

And voicing opposition to it would most likely result in a serious ass-whipping if in mixed company.

Nobody loves war

The song was written during the War or 1812 and celebrates a brave stand by US forces against a British bombardment. It is a war song set to music to a British drinking song

America the Beautiful is an ode to America
Our National Anthem celebrates a military victory

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Wrong. It's about what the flag represents, not the flag itself.

 

[Pogo]

Not shit Sherlock.

So is the premise that our National Anthem is a evil thing. But that is the belief of the person mentioned in the OP.

Not shit indeed. So why make it up?

Back to the OP -- where does the guy say it's "evil"? Or make any value judgement? He says it's a "war anthem", which it is. So what? Again, why make up something that isn't there?

Further, the "buy"/"sell" routine is a sports point/counterpoint where you're supposed to take a stand. So this guy did, and another guy took the opposite stand. That's dialogue. Again, so what?

Now he does raise the question of why we play a national anthem at an (intranational) sports event. I do too.

I'll say it again...sports are nothing more than "war", pitting one "tribe" against another. Somewhat less bloody, but war nonetheless.

Of course they are.

Just trying to make sense of why we should be playing a national anthem, when it's the same anthem for both teams.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Key is not writing about a piece of cloth but the fact that glimpses of that flag told him that Ft McHenry was holding out.

It is our National Anthem and we love it. But it is a strange choice of song.

Ah but the flag is entirely the object, start to finish: "can you see what so proudly we hailed" IS the flag. So is "does that star spangled banner yet wave" in the last sentence of the first verse. Even if you take the entire lyrics:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The whole poem/song is entirely about the flag itself. A brief diversion to a "band" but then right back home to the cloth.

Nothing wrong with that (and we don't get poetry like that any more)

But it's a strange decision that we pick this, rather than, say, America the Beautiful, for a national anthem.

The pledge does the same thing: "I pledge allegiance to the flag" -- the republic is an afterthought. The rest of the world doesn't do this.

Curious.

To reconnect with the topic -- would the TV commentor have expressed the same sentiment if our anthem was America the Beautiful-- even if it still got played before sporting events?
Or would the anthem even be played at those events if that were the case? IOW how would it change how we view our country?

Discuss...

I wonder what the response would be if the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" were substituted?

 

[Pogo]

Nobody loves war

The song was written during the War or 1812 and celebrates a brave stand by US forces against a British bombardment. It is a war song set to music to a British drinking song

America the Beautiful is an ode to America
Our National Anthem celebrates a military victory

Right, and one specific battle, and really at base the song is about a flag -- not even the country.

That's what I find interesting -- other countries wax poetic about their homeland, we go all into a cloth fetish.

Same as the pledge of allegiance, except that's something most of the world doesn't even have (I think the Phillipines is the only one). What does it say about us that we're that degree of symbol-minded?

(Or as SpockSmoker might call it, "metaphorical")

Wrong. It's about what the flag represents, not the flag itself.

It may be intended that way, but the words, to both the anthem and the pledge, center on the flag, literally. The pledge even puts it ahead of the republic.

There's just something kinky about that.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Not shit indeed. So why make it up?

Back to the OP -- where does the guy say it's "evil"? Or make any value judgement? He says it's a "war anthem", which it is. So what? Again, why make up something that isn't there?

Further, the "buy"/"sell" routine is a sports point/counterpoint where you're supposed to take a stand. So this guy did, and another guy took the opposite stand. That's dialogue. Again, so what?

Now he does raise the question of why we play a national anthem at an (intranational) sports event. I do too.

I'll say it again...sports are nothing more than "war", pitting one "tribe" against another. Somewhat less bloody, but war nonetheless.

Of course they are.

Just trying to make sense of why we should be playing a national anthem, when it's the same anthem for both teams.

One side wins, one loses. Both strive for victory. Would you be satisfied if each team had their own theme song...oh, wait, at least college teams do.

 

[Pogo]

Key is not writing about a piece of cloth but the fact that glimpses of that flag told him that Ft McHenry was holding out.

It is our National Anthem and we love it. But it is a strange choice of song.

Ah but the flag is entirely the object, start to finish: "can you see what so proudly we hailed" IS the flag. So is "does that star spangled banner yet wave" in the last sentence of the first verse. Even if you take the entire lyrics:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The whole poem/song is entirely about the flag itself. A brief diversion to a "band" but then right back home to the cloth.

Nothing wrong with that (and we don't get poetry like that any more)

But it's a strange decision that we pick this, rather than, say, America the Beautiful, for a national anthem.

The pledge does the same thing: "I pledge allegiance to the flag" -- the republic is an afterthought. The rest of the world doesn't do this.

Curious.

To reconnect with the topic -- would the TV commentor have expressed the same sentiment if our anthem was America the Beautiful-- even if it still got played before sporting events?
Or would the anthem even be played at those events if that were the case? IOW how would it change how we view our country?

Discuss...

I wonder what the response would be if the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" were substituted?

I think of that as a religious song ("spiritual"). Not really fitting for a national anthem. Same with "God Bless America".