Posted on 05/16/2018 3:59:17 AM PDT by raccoonradio
...reported opposition to song
Howard Bryant’s latest long-winded essay about racial division in professional sports contains remarks from an anonymous “high-ranking Red Sox official” about his desire for the team to stop playing "God Bless America" at Fenway Park.
“Recently a high-ranking Red Sox official told me — nearly 17 years after the towers fell — that he really doesn’t know why the team still plays ‘God Bless America,’ but he knows this: The team would ‘get killed’ publicly if it was the first team to stop doing it,” Bryant writes.
Despite the “high-ranking official’s” opposition to “God Bless America,” the Red Sox told WEEI.com in an email the song is here to stay.
“There have been no discussions about discontinuing God Bless America at Fenway Park, which we play on Sundays and holidays,” said club spokeswoman Zineb Curran.
MLB encouraged its teams to play “God Bless America” in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks, when the Padres first used the song during the seventh-inning stretch. Since then, every team has adopted the patriotic jingle as an in-game staple, though many clubs now only play it on Sundays and holidays –– like the Red Sox. The Yankees play it during every home game.
The debate over the appropriateness of patriotic displays at professional sporting events came to a head in 2015, when it was revealed the Pentagon paid at least 50 teams for ceremonies that honor American soldiers. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake from Arizona, both Republicans, called on teams to donate the money instead.
Author Sheryl Kaskowitz, who wrote a book on the origins of “God Bless America,” found in a 2013 poll that 61 percent of baseball fans don’t want the song played at games anymore.
I have three letter for MLB: NFL.
Identify the high ranking official and let the fans decide.
Well it is Boston.
I never cared for the song. I watch most Tigers’ games and couldn’t tell you whether or not they sing it in Detroit.
I’d much rather see 99% of the pop, EDM, rap garbage stop getting played at games.
Tweet by Kirk & Callahan, WEEI:
“Breaking: God Bless America is “overly militaristic” according to @EvanDrellich.”
(Drellich works for NBCSports Boston and is also on WEEI, MLB Network)
Article mentioned how the Red Sox would get killed if they were the first to break with the tradition, and Yankees play it at every home game. Don’t forget two of the planes on 9-11 left from Boston’s Logan Airport and some of the passengers and crew on these planes were from Boston area.
During the Philadelphia Flyers glory days, they would brng in Kate Smith to sing God Bless America. It didn ‘t really work against the Islanders.
They call it a “patriotic jingle”
To hell with them.
“Recently a high-ranking Red Sox official told me — nearly 17 years after the towers fell — that he really doesn’t know why the team still plays ‘God Bless America,’ but he knows this: The team would ‘get killed’ publicly if it was the first team to stop doing it,” Bryant writes.
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Any anger would disappear in about 1.5 seconds if they stopped playing it in this maggot infested state (MA.) Sports talk in Boston has become so rabidly anti-God it has become impossible to listen to.
One song played at Red Sox games that is wearing out its welcome is Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline (inspired by him seeing a pic of the young Caroline Kennedy, he’d said—at first).It spread to other parks, too.Recent article in Boston Globe, owned by Red Sox owner John Henry (I call it the Fenway Gazette) talked of how fans are getting turned off by the good times never seemed so good! so good! tune.
The all American sport of baseball.
Ad jingle:
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet
They go together in the good old USA...
It’s not just about the butts in the seats, though. It’s about TV revenue. And there are plenty of markets where this kind of cr@p won’t sell well.
Sorry. I’m a MOPAR Guy. Leave out the Chebby. Then I’m good with it.
Shows like Kirk and Callahan (vehement Sodomite defenders and deniers of the actual word of God) are exactly what I was referring to in post 10. Stopped listening to them awhile ago when they yukked it up during a long skit about pedophilia that they thought was very funny. Two sick puppies. John Dennis knew what he was doing when he left.
I call BS fake news. No Red Sox offical made this statement
Another leftwing fake “poll” found that fans don’t want to hear “God Bless America” anymore. Hmmmm.
Gotta be that ghoul John Henry, right?
Given that this is,after all,Baaahston, we know that God Bless America *and* the Yawkey Center will soon be history.
And we know that Princess Liawatha,staunch defender of the Constitution (well,parts of it at least) will claim full credit for both at the Rat Party's 2020 Convention.
Gee, I wonder if it’s for the same reason that a number of folks opposed the song when it first came out? They don’t like it because it was written by a Jew.
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