Do the Minnesota Twins hate America, and do you care?

[Pius Jefferson]

Does it matter not really but I think they could easily stand at attention for two and half minutes and not have their pre-game routine affected. 

 

 

[James]

HOW DARE THEY NOT STAND OUT THERE FOR THE ANTHEM!  DID THEY FORGET THAT THEY LOVE 'MERICA?     

 

Ugh.  The guy that brought this up needs to find other hobbies.  I suggest actually watching the baseball game instead of using social media to stir up a non-controversy.

 

This is the problem with the internet, idiots can find other idiots and make the rest of us listen to their drivel.  The internet should be used for productive things, like discussing one's favorite baseball team and how happy you are that they are winning games.

[Thrylos]

 

Don't hate me for this:

 

I don't think the national anthem should be played at sporting events.

 

+1

 

Unless it is on the podium in the Olympics/World Cup etc when a winner is representing his/her country in an international competition.   Anything else IMHO trivializes what the National Anthem stands for...

[Wookiee of the Year]

 

To me, the sign of respect is how you act during the anthem if you are on the field or in the dugout.

 

I''ve never found the sign of respect to be whether you are present.  A lot of people are late for games..  I expect latecomers to stand still wherever they are in the stadium but I don't find failure to be present for the anthem to be a sign of disrespect.

This is actually a really good point. Unless WCCO is planning a follow-up story asking, "Why Are Some Twins Fans Absent For National Anthem?", they're clearly making much ado about nothing here.

 

Regarding dropping the National Anthem, I'd prefer it be kept only because at an event centered around competition, it's nice to start on a note of unity. But the more people make hay about stuff like this, the less it serves that purpose. (On the other hand, dropping "God Bless America" in the 7th can't come soon enough.)

 

Also, I'm curious what people think undermines the National Anthem more: Some players being absent for it, or this?

[Willihammer]

No and no

[Bark's Lounge]

I am on the side of the people who do not think it to be necessary to have those songs played at sporting events.

 

Saying that - it could always be worse, in addition to the "National Anthem" and "God Bless America", they could also add in Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" sometime during the span of the game.

 

Like I said - It can always be worse.

[ashbury]

It is instructive to bring a friend or colleague from another continent to a US sporting event, and find yourself in the position of being expected to defend the show of love for one's country to start the game.

[Thrylos]

 

Like I said - It can always be worse.

 

Sure. Merle. Haggard.

[nicksaviking]

 

Frankly anything the Twins do stopping short of supporting ISIS is fine with me as long as they are winning. Also, why is such a "patriot" taking pictures during the national anthem of the players, shouldn't he be looking towards the flag which is in the exact opposite direction of where he is looking?

 

This is why we can't have nice things!!!!

If ISIS has a nice SS prospect, I might be OK if they send a scout or two.

 

If fewer players standing for the national anthem is any indication of a more successful international approach, sign me up.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Don't hate me for this:

 

I don't think the national anthem should be played at sporting events.

CRArko brought it up, but the

This is actually a really good point. Unless WCCO is planning a follow-up story asking, "Why Are Some Twins Fans Absent For National Anthem?", they're clearly making much ado about nothing here.

 

Regarding dropping the National Anthem, I'd prefer it be kept only because at an event centered around competition, it's nice to start on a note of unity. But the more people make hay about stuff like this, the less it serves that purpose. (On the other hand, dropping "God Bless America" in the 7th can't come soon enough.)

 

Also, I'm curious what people think undermines the National Anthem more: Some players being absent for it, or this?

isnt America Super enough?

[Bark's Lounge]

 

[spinowner]

 

TFS.jpg

LOL. Comrade.

[Craig Arko]

TFS.jpg

The Hunt for Red October.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

The Hunt for Red October.

Good one!

[DaveW]

If they wanted to attract the younger generation just replace with Miley's Party in the USA

[twinsnorth49]

Think if those poor Blue Jays and their fans who have to endure not one, but two anthems every home game.

 

My favourite NHL games to attend are the ones between the Jets and another Canadian team, because that means a one anthem night.

 

I get why they are played, I don't hate it but I could do without it, seems a rather perfunctory duty to most anyway. Save it for international events, it's about the only time it's relevant for every player and fans of a given team.

[nicksaviking]

Of course no team could dare cut the anthem now. I can only imagine the radioactive hate cloud that would rain down upon a club from certain news outlets.

[glunn]

What I hate the most is when the Air Force planes buzz the ballpark.  They are too loud and they fly too close to my beverage.

[Pius Jefferson]

Who were the 10 players standing for the anthem?

[Squirrel]

Since this really isn't a baseball discussion, and has moved beyond as it relates specifically to the Twins, I've moved this thread to the Sports Bar.

[biggentleben]

I was wondering where a 3-page thread suddenly appeared from in the forums I actually follow closely!

 

I'll say this, and I am fine if I'm told to shove off. I love the anthem being sung before a game. I love when a father has the opportunity to show his son how to hold a hat during the anthem in order to be respectful during the song. I loved as a player the final bit of pure focus it allowed me before the start of a game.

 

That all said, I cannot stand how the anthem is "performed" now. One of my favorite parts about attending Gopher men's hockey games was that they had the same person always singing the anthem. I have been singing the anthem since I was in middle school for events, and during college, I had to often decline requests to sing at Gopher/Twins/Timberwolves games because I was already doing another one. I can proudly say I sang the first anthem before a sporting event at the U of M after 9/11 for a volleyball game, and I had a veteran of WWII and the Korean War come up to me with tears in his eyes and hug me as I came off the court because I didn't "Whitney" the song to death. If we're going to actually do all those things I mentioned in my first paragraph, I don't want to hear how many extra notes Katy Perry or Justin Bieber or Miranda Lambert add to the song.  I want to be able to sing the anthem's first common verse in unison with those around me and then cut loose with the rest of the game. If done right, that's 2-3 minutes of time and then everyone is back to their game.

 

In its traditional state, I'm absolutely for playing the anthem before every game.  In the modern "performance" of the anthem, I can take or leave it being done before a game.  As far as God Bless America, the 7th inning is for baseball's anthem (Take Me Out To The Ballgame), not an opportunity for faux patriotism. Shane's "it could be worse" was exactly what 2001-2002 Twins 7th innings were - GBA, then Lee Greenwood ("Hey, that patriotic song has Minnesota in its lyrics. I luv murica!"), then TMOTTB. The country was in a different mood at the time, but when players have come out and talked about how ridiculously long the 7th inning stretch in Minnesota was, then you know it got a bit out of hand.

[Otto von Ballpark]

The Lee Greenwood song had one redeeming benefit at the Dome -- without fail, LaTroy Hawkins would play an "air cymbal" during it.