Steve Tisch on the NFL and the National Anthem

On Giving the Lone Eagles Salute to White House Honors

It has been a long standing tradition that winners of national sports championships are invited to the White House to be feted.

The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl championship in 52 years in the NFL by beating the New England Patriots.  The underdog Eagles were slated to visit the White House but the event was cancelled when only nine of seventy team personnel were confirmed to visit the South Lawn ceremony, again dragging politics unto the sports field.

While it is true that no Philadelphia Eagles players Took the Knee during the Francis Scott Key Star Spangled Banner, some players raised their fists, akin to the Black Power salute during the 1968 Summer Olympics.  But by skipping the White House honors was intended as a progressive protest against the winner of the 2016 Presidential election, President Donald J. Trump.

Lest one excuse their absences from the White House ceremonies as not just flipping the bird at President Trump, consider the invitation by the Mayor Jim Kenney (D-Philadelphia) to visit Philadelphia City Hall for alternative honors.



President Trump reacted to the Philadelphia Eagles recalcitrance to attend the White House ceremonies, so he disinvited the NFL championship ceremony and in its stead opted for a patriotic pep rally.

The NFL recently changing their rules to require players on the field to stand for the National Anthem (but allowing them to stay in their locker rooms) to mitigate the mire that has been festering since Colin Kaepernick started protests during the National Anthem in 2016. Ratings for the NFL have significantly dipped since the National Anthem protests.  Moreover, President Trump has often weighed in to support respecting civic rituals which honor our nation as embodied in the National Anthem.

Clearly the NFL owners made a business decision, but it mirrors the wishes of many erstwhile pro football fans to have an avocation away from polemic politics. Alas, the progressive instinct is to politicize everything.  There are rumors that some NFL players are saying that they will sit out the 2018 season until Colin Kaepernick is signed as a quarterback and is not penalized for taking his knee during the National Anthem. It is a pity that the Philadelphia Eagles organization used South Lawn ceremony as another extension of partisan warfare by trying to give President Trump the Lone Eagle salute.  But this allowed the populist President to counter-punch and reinforce values which appeal to many coalitions of new Republican voters as part of the Great Revolt.

On Roseanne and The Great Revolt

Coastal Elites are still trying to reconcile in their minds how Donald John Trump became the 45th President of the United States.  They were convicted that First Lady Senator Obama Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would break the glass ceiling and be ushered into the Oval Office.  After all, she was pitted against a boorish Manhattan mogul who was a political novice and was alienated from key segments of his current political party. 

That unshakable arrogance makes the HBO excerpts  of Obama Administration point player Ben Rhodes on Election Night 2016 all the more delightful to those who chant "Drain the Swamp". In the aftermath of the election upset, Democrats pushed a Russian collusion conceit which managed to have a Special Counsel named but who garnered up scant evidence of a Russian nexus to Trump's campaign.

The mainstream media which became progressive provocateurs broadcast a bevy of anti-Trump material, gorgonizing anyone who supported President Trump as being a racist, sexist homophobic xenophobe instead of investigating how Mr. Trump was able to break the supposed Blue Wall for Democrats in the Upper Midwest. 

Salena Zito and Brad Todd's recent bestseller "The Great Revolt" (2018) examined seven groups of unlikely voters for a populist titularly Republican candidate.  Many of those groups, like "Red Blooded and Blue Collar", "Rough Rebounders" and "Perotistas" were either born and bred Democrats or previously unreliable voters.  During the promotional campaign for "The Great Revolt", Ms. Zito pointed to the resurgence of the Roseanne Show to illustrate how "The Forgotten Man" was gaining prominence in the body politic despite the barrage of anti-Trump sentiment on the airways.

When the Rosanne show was revived as a mid season replacement, it garnered 22 million viewers, in part because it portrayed Trump supporters as having reasons for their sentiments rather than a knee jerk condemnation of their politically incorrect heresy. 

Recently, Rosanne Barr tweeted a crude crack against Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett.  Despite Roseanne Barr offering a quick social media apology, the Roseanne Show was cancelled by by ABC Entertainment and the eleven seasons of reruns were pulled off Hulu and TVLand.  

Some Trump supporters saw nothing wrong with the controversial comparison, noting that Rosanne Barr has a history of making questionable quips. Conservatives have pointed out the numerous cases of hypocrisy that progressives say untoward things against their enemies and there are no consequences.  

MSNBC's Chris Hayes may have unwittingly revealed the progressive playbook by too overtly suggesting that Roseanne reflected the reputation of Trump voters as being racist, sexist, homophobic xenophobes.  But it was Todd Starnes who noted that ABC can't stomach Trump supporters. 

It is dubious that ABC will suffer from an acute boycott by incensed Rosanne viewers.  But their parent company Disney's stock sunk  2.3% on the news of the cancellation.  It may well be that the Rosanne Show is picked up by another outlet, as Fox Television is bringing back  back the ratings winning Tim Allen comedy  "Last Man Standing" which appeals to a conservative audience.  


There are other indications that the steamrolling of "Fly Over Country" values does not always work.  Despite the onslaught of publicity for Black Lives Matter and the Take The Knee campaigns, the NFL instituted a new policy that prohibits player protests on the field during the National Anthem.  Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones claims that Donald Trump told him "You can't win... this one lifts me" on the Take the Knee controversy.  That leads you to believe that Trump's popularity triumphs, rather than understanding that patriotic, non-politically correct American values are the crux of the ratings decline. 

Democrats and elites have positioned themselves to be progressive polemicists, thinking that their political prescriptions are inevitable in its ascent. Seeing the collapse in CNN's ratings and the incredible erosion of Democrat favorability in generic congressional polling ought to shake them of their smugness. 

Revisitng What the Hail?

Fergie's faux pas rendition of the National Anthem at the 2018 NBA All Star Game revived a simmering controversy about performing the Star Spangled Banner. Wags on social media contend that Fergie's sultry stylings declared war against the National Anthem and was the worst ever. 




Obviously they have forgotten Roseanne Barr’s 1990 San Diego Padre’s atrocity of an anthem, which was more unfunny performance art than honoring our Nation.

Christina Aguilera’s performance of the National Anthem at Superbowl XLV was marred by a lyric malfunction. The pop star botched the ramparts verse and instead sang “What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last gleaming”.  This echoed a prior line, which she also flubbed. 


Aside from the lyrical miscued, Aguilera tried switching up the melodies a couple of time, to less successful effect than Whitney Houston at Superbowl XXV. Houston managed to put the Star Spangled Banner back on the Billboard charts. 

 

Personally, I was watching in a boisterous space where viewers were more capable of witnessing how adeptly Aguilera’s wardrobe covered her tattoos. One can surmise that  Aguilera was quite nervous, as some of her prior renditions of the Star Spangled Banner at sporting events were outstanding.  And it seems that she was concentrated more on changing the melody than on the lyrics.

Our crowd cheered along with the crowd in Dallas when the video feed switched to our troops serving in Afghanistan.  As I rewatched the video, I noticed the shot of Pittsburg Steelers Cornerback William Gay chocked up with emotion during the National Anthem.

Even spirited and heart felt renditions of the National Anthem can cause controversy, as Jose Feliciano’s rendition during game 5 of the 1968 World Series in Detroit did, or Jimi Hendrix’s electric guitar version at Woodstock in 1969.


Lyrically, Francis Scott Key’s poetic magnus opus is poignant, but he conveniently set it to “To Anacreon in Heaven”, an English pub song used as a sobriety test. For me, the only more testing melodic line in America's songbook standard is the genius who set Happy Birthday to the children's song  "Good Morning to All" from 1893.



Nevertheless, the Star Spangled Banner means something for most Americans. That explains egregious expressions and politicizing of the National Anthem seems to strike such deep chords. The NFL television ratings are markedly down as players Taking a Knee during the National Anthem, which many link to patriotic fans protesting and the League repeatedly allowed this perceived disrespect. 

[This piece was originally published on DCBarroco.US but updated after aesthetic outrages]

Lou Holtz on the NFL's Take the Knee Conundrum

NFL Players Pissed Off at Trump

Fox Sports sideline reporter Pam Oliver predicted on MSNBC that NFL players will continue to Take the Knee throughout the regular season.  Oliver opined the protest is about President Trump, while others have pushed a Black Lives Matter motivation or even an anti-American animus.

Former President Clinton spokesman Joel Lockhart, reportedly advised the NFL to shift the symbolic protest to locking arms to show unity during the National Anthem.  Unfortunately, not all players adhered to this crisis management suggestion.  In addition, the lock step pose still did not allay the ire of many patriotic NFL fans. 

It is unclear what sort of behavior that League officials will tolerate.  In the past, the NFL has threatened New York team players  from donning decals  to show solidarity with 9/11 victims.  More recently, the NFL denied the Dallas Cowboys  permission to wear a "5" on their helmets  to remember the fallen law enforcement officers from a shooting.  Yet antics like Odell Beckham Jr. seems to be tolerated.

A better question is what NFL fans will tolerate.  Television ratings are markedly down. Long time fans are publicly burning licensed merchandise and even tickets. 

"Rev." Jesse Jackson's Cotton Picking Advice on Taking A Knee

Perhaps Jesse Jackson should remember that the First Amendment refers to the government making laws against the free exercise of speech. Private entities, such as a professional football team, can restrict or fine speech and behavior by their employees. Hence, the NFL's Take The Knee moment does not apply, notwithstanding President Trump's blue collar blurtation about "Sons of Bitches" who do not respect the flag or the National Anthem. 

Despite "Rev." Jackson's assertion that the Take The Knee protest is not about race, he uses a Cotton Picking analogy, which would be a micro-aggression if it was uttered by someone else.

Jackson's suggestion again demonstrates that he is more inclined to organize political factions than organizing a church much less evangelizing the Gospel.

UPDATE 10/23/2017

A month after first making his controversial "cotton picking" sports analogy, Jesse Jackson was still trying to make hay over the controversy on Fox Sports F1.

Roger Goodell on NFL Conduct

Rush Limbaugh on the NFL Taking the Knee for the National Anthem

Newt Gingrich on NFL's Take The Knee

"The National Anthem is our patriotic anchor to the national defense."

Last year was the bicentennary of the penning of Francis Scott Key's of the Star Spangled Banner. Our National Anthem is based on a poem "The Defense of Fort McHenry" about the bombardment of Baltimore by the British during the War of 1812.  The British had just burned Washington, DC  and their forces were heading North to beat "rebel" American forces in Baltimore.  What stood in the way of British military dominance was Fort McHenry, which blocked warships from entering Baltimore harbor.

The British bombarded Fort McHenry for 27 hours.  Key was aboard a Royal Navy warship negotiating the release of a prison.  During the aerial siege, the American lawyer was taunted that soon the Stars and Stripes would be replaced by the Union Jack.  On the dawn of September 14, 1812 when Francis Scott Key saw the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry, he was inspired to write: 'Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?".

Shelli Jones Manuel 

Shelli Manuel, an accomplished musician and vocalist, was inspired to educate people about the Star Spangled Banner when she interviewed Baltimoreans about the National Anthem in the city of the song's birth, yet 80% of the adults and none of the youths knew any of the verse.  No wonder people chuckle nervously at scene in The Naked Gun (1988) when Detective Frank Drebin stumbled along when singing the Star Spangled Banner at a ballgame.

There have also been movements to replace the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem with the Woody Guthrie folk song "This Land Is Your Land" (1940).  Guthrie's ditty was written in reaction to his repulsion to hearing Kate Smith sing  Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" (1918) on the radio, as he thought that the lyrics were unrealistic and complacent. Guthrie tinkered with the tune to occasionally include overtly political verses which showed communist sympathies. It may be a fun song to sing around a campfire but does it really depict universal American values?

Pit Bull singing Nuestro Himno (2006)

In 2006, there was a push by a bunch of Latino pop stars like Pit Bull and  to make "Nuestro Himno" a de-facto hip-hop Hispanic National Anthem. Clearly, a Spanish version of a National Anthem takes away from the unity of one song brings a nation. This was foisted on the public in the midst of the 2006 push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  What a way to Balkanize the country! 

But there is also the trickiness of translation.  The first stanza of "Nuestro Himno" was fairly accurately rendered, although references to bombs and rockets were referred to as "fierce combat" so as not to sound too militaristic.  However, the second stanza seems to totally rewrite Key's lyrics, expressing "we are equal, we are brothers."  An alternate version of "Nuestro Himno" including rapping in English exhorting: "Let's not start a war With all these hard workers They can't help where they were born."  Did they channel Woody Guthrie with some Latino flair? Fortunately, Nuestro Himno got mixed reviews and seems to have faded into the sunset. 

Miley Cyrus at 2015 VMA

In 2014, Miley Cyrus backed a "We the People" petition to President Obama to change the National Anthem from the Star Spangled Banner to "Party in the USA". Of course that publicity stunt should have been taken as seriously as Miley Cyrus would be by a Music Conservatory.  Still, the petition only fell 90,000 votes short of being addressed by the White House. Shelli Manuel and the Veterans of Foreign War also muted this mutiny of our National Anthem.

Why is it that there are multiple moves to replace the Star Spangled Banner as America's National Anthem?  Obviously, education is a key component for the anthematic cognitive dissonance. Our educational system seems to stress social history in lieu of patriotic concentrations.  Moreover, students are conditioned to consider the United States a warmonger, misinterpreting the "bombs and rockets" as aggression rather than standing in self-defense.

Another aspect which people wonder "What the Hail?" about our National Anthem is the tune.  Key was a lawyer and poet, not a composer. Hence he borrowed the already established tune "The Anacreontic Song" (To Anacreon in Heaven). Unfortunately, that was a popular English tavern tune which was used as a sobriety test-- members could be refused another round if sang off key or flubbed the lyrics.   Key ought not be chagrined at borrowing popular melodies, as that is what Guthrie did for "This Land Is Your Land" too.

There has been some consternation about stylized instrumental arrangements of the Star Spangled Banner, like Jimi Hendrix guitar solo rendition at Woodstock (1969) or Jose Feliciano's soulful arrangement at Tiger Stadium during the 1968 World Series.  Tastes can differ but so long as the musician does not make a mockery of the National Anthem like Rosanne Barr did in 1990, we can tolerate it so long as the lyrics are not butchered or altered.


To combat this ignorance and indolence about the Star Spangled Banner, Shelli Manuel took a multi-faceted approach.  After singing at a subdued 2014 bicentennary celebration for the Star Spangled Banner in Baltimore, Shelli Manuel sprang into action.  Manuel organized Sing It America to educate the public about our National Anthem.  The group convinced the United States Senate to honor and give thanks to the Star Spangled Banner  to have a year long celebration of the Star Spangled Banner. Moreover, Senate Resolution. 550 (2014) expresses the Senate sentiment that all the current verses of the Star Spangled Banner remain the National Anthem in perpetuity, including the "Forgotten Prayer Verse". 

But aside from symbolic Senate votes, Sing It America launched a comprehensive educational program to help students learn about the Star Spangled Banner.  

In the Bicentennial year, the National Symphony Orchestra premiered a new symphonic arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner at "A Capitol Fourth". But Shelli Manuel wanted to demonstrate that the Star Spangled Banner can be performed well in a variety of arrangements and settings.  So Sing It America arranged a Marathon 24 hour celebration of the Star Spangled Banner on the 201st anniversary from 5am to 5am on the National Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Dozens of groups will sing the National Anthem every hour on the hour.

This dedication to the Star Spangled Banner shows that the National Anthem is not just a pro-forma tradition before sporting events.  The Sing It America Marathon and educational efforts invite Americans to deeply enter into the meaning of the Star Spangled Banner and see the lyrics of our National Anthem as a credo reflecting our freedom, our history, acknowledgement of Divine Providence, and self defense.

Off Key Celebrations of the Star Spangled Banner

As we celebrate the bicentenary of Francis Scott Keys penning "The Star Spangled Banner",  the Naked Gun movie comedic crooning ought to shame celebrities to learn the lyrics to the patriotic poem set to a period drinking song. 

There are too many examples of hyped singers who flub the lines to the National Anthem at sporting events, either through ignorance or intentionally, and show disrespect to honoring America.  That being said, it helps when the accompanist plays the right national anthem.

Singing "The Star Spangled Banner", which Congress designated as America's National Anthem in 1931, did not began a tradition at pro baseball games until 1942.  It is estimated that in the major leagues, the National Anthem has been heard before the first pitch at 121,000 games.   

  

For those of us to struggle to keep on Key, lyrically and aesthetically, it is worth being reminded of the meaning behind the text.  The lyrics were based on "The Defense of Fort McHenry" after a sustained bombardment of Baltimore during the war of 1812.  Francis Scott Key was an accomplished attorney who was negotiating for the release of Dr. William Beanes held prisoner by the British after the Battle of Bladensburg.  The British detained  Keys as a diplomat on a prison ship while the Royal Armada bombed Baltimore Harbor.  After a night's bombardment, Francis Scott Key looked to Fort McHenry and saw the Stars and Stripes flying, demonstrating that American freedom had survived.

There are four verses to the National Anthem, though sports fans are only familiar with the first verse. In case one needs a refresher, here are the real 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 rocket's 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!

Anthematically Verklempt

Rosanne Barr at Padres game 1990

Some cynics question why we perform patriotic music like the National Anthem before professional sporting matches.  This perspective is bolstered  when singers forget the lyrics like Aaron Lewis did during the 2014 World Series.  And people wonder "What the Hail?" when people like Rosanne Barr or silver screen characters such as  Frank Drevin from "The Naked Gun"  (1988) who turn "honoring America" into a joke. 

That being said, there are glimmers of hope on honoring America in song in pro sports.  It was a touching new tradition that Major League Baseball featured active servicemen singing "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch during the playoffs and the World Series.  

However, what was truly moving was the reaction to an instrumental rendition of the National Anthem during an NFL Monday Night Football game. At MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the New York Giants invited Grammy Award winning trumpeter Chris Botti to play the National Anthem.

Botti's rendition was so inspiring that it visibly moved Indianapolis Colts veteran Wide Receiver Reggie Wayne to tears.  This stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner was no mere formality when it can make a veteran pro football player verklempt. 

On the eve of the midterm elections, when conscientious American citizens prepare to go to the polls and exercise their franchise to support and maintain our democratic Republic, it is fitting to hear such a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem.  Bravo!

Waxing Poetically for Independence Day

                                    A Nation's Strength-  Ralph Waldo Emerson (1904)

What makes a nation’s pillars high

And its foundations strong?

What makes it mighty to defy

The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand

Go down in battle shock;

Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,

Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust

Of empires passed away;

The blood has turned their stones to rust,

Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown

Has seemed to nations sweet;

But God has struck its luster down

In ashes at his feet.

Not gold but only men can make

A people great and strong;

Men who for truth and honor’s sake

Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly...

They build a nation’s pillars deep

And lift them to the sky.

As Americans celebrate Independence Day, we should find ways to deepen our appreciation of what America means.  This can be accomplished through art, poetry and music.

The stylized skyline  resembling the stars and stripes brings to mind  that the Declaration of Independence was a divine gift to the world where our founders gathered in Philadelphia in 1776 asserted that self evident truths that rights and freedoms are granted from God not from the state.

Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem "A Nation's Strength" reminds us that this foundation of freedom is grounded by brave men and women who toil to protect our freedom, often at great personal cost.

But these celebrations can not become ossified.  So A Capitol Fourth on the National Mall will feature a new arrangement of the National Anthem.

This version of Francis Scott Key's Star Spangled Banner seems more fit for orchestral performance than to be sung.  However, considering the history of the base tune and the difficulty which singers have singing on key, this arrangement can be a blessing.