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Patirotism and Pride (print title)
New York Post ^ | April 21, 2013 | Mike Vaccaro

Posted on 04/21/2013 3:19:16 PM PDT by TBP

The first time? I remember that as if it were yesterday, even if it’s now 33 years’ worth of yesterdays ago. That was the evening of Friday, Feb. 22, 1980, and I was 13 years old, in the seventh grade, and I was working the scoreboard at West Hempstead High School for an evening filled with CYO basketball games.

You could hear the buzz first, and it moved slowly around the old gym on Nassau Boulevard, because there was no texting and no tweeting and no email and no cell phones, just old-fashioned word of mouth, person to person, row to row, and the resulting commentary.

“We did what?”

“Get outta here ...”

“You’re lyin’ ...”

Then, as if by divine inspiration — because it’s doubtful anyone ever had heard it before — a chant among the 175 or so people in the stands, softly at first, quietly, then louder, more rhythmic, finally enough to pimple the skin of your arms once they heard that USA 4, USSR 3 officially was in the books ...

“U ... S ... A ...”

“U! S! A!”

“UUUUUUUU! SSSSSSSSS! AAAAAAA!”

I’ll never forget it. And, of course, that was the first thing I thought about Friday night, sitting with an old teammate of mine named John, and with his kids, and with my wife, in Section 417 at Citi Field. We started higher, in 513, but John had said there were seats around him, and so we moved lower for a better view of Matt Harvey and Stephen Strasburg.

As it turned out, a better listen of what came.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: ballpark; boston; patriotism; usa
Please read the entire piece. It will warm your heart. Brilliantly staated.
1 posted on 04/21/2013 3:19:16 PM PDT by TBP
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To: TBP

I am sure that there are plenty of libs who hate seeing the crowd waving flags and shouting “USA”. To the libs, that’s “jingoism,” and it implies that we consider the bombing an attack on us as a people from an alien Muslim enemy.

And, by the way, we are always asked to show respect and compassion for the Muslims. Does anyone ever ask them to stop hating us?


2 posted on 04/21/2013 3:36:05 PM PDT by djpg
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To: djpg
And, by the way, we are always asked to show respect and compassion for the Muslims.

As we should, along with all others. But it's a two-way street.

Does anyone ever ask them to stop hating us?

That wouldn't be politically correct.

3 posted on 04/21/2013 8:26:20 PM PDT by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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