On Wednesday, the NFL announced a policy providing, as I understand it, that all players on the field when the National Anthem is played must stand and show respect for the flag and anthem. Players who do not want to stand can stay in the locker room until after the anthem is played.
It has never been a big deal for me whether players stood or didn’t stand during the anthem. I don’t watch football, and even if I did, I wouldn’t care. There are more important things to worry about. Plus the freedom to protest is a good thing.
In fact, the only time in recent memory that I have heard fans really sing the National Anthem at Wrigley Field was last summer, when the Toronto Blue Jays were in town. There were a lot of Blue Jays fans there, and they sang “O Canada” so loud that I think they embarrassed the rest of us into actually singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Which may be the right idea here. Instead of worrying about what other people are doing during the National Anthem, why don’t we sing it ourselves?
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