It's Come Time I Figure.

[Cat Man]

"This should happen everywhere," New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy tweeted Wednesday. "If you think the anthem needs to be played before sporting events, then play it before every movie, concert, church service and the start of every work day at every business. What good reason is there to play the anthem before a game?"

The question Van Gundy raises has been debated for some time.

The NBA rule book does not specifically say that the anthem -- or anthems, in games involving the Toronto Raptors, the lone Canadian team in the league -- must be played before games. The only rule regarding the songs states this: "Players, coaches and trainers must stand and line up in a dignified posture along the foul lines during the playing of the American and/or Canadian national anthems."

That rule was relaxed last year in the NBA's restart bubble at Walt Disney World, when the league took no objection to players kneeling for the anthem to show their desire for an end to racial injustice and police brutality.

Players were criticized for kneeling; some of those who stood, such as Miami's Meyers Leonard and Orlando's Jonathan Isaac, also faced backlash on social media for choosing to stand. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, a graduate of the Air Force Academy and coach of the U.S. men's national team, also stood for anthems in the bubble.

It's not uncommon for some players to simply not be on the floor for the anthem, exiting for the locker room shortly before the end of the warm-up period for various reasons such as bathroom breaks before returning when starting lineups are introduced.

Though intended to be a solemn hymn, it's almost never treated as such -- fans in many arenas routinely shout over the final lines, break into applause before the song is complete and often insert their own touches into the song such as NHL fans in St. Louis chanting "Blues" over the anthem's actual last word, "brave."

Psaki said she had not spoken to President Joe Biden about the issue.

"I know he's incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the anthem and all that it represents," Psaki said. "He'd also say, of course, that part of pride in our country means recognizing where we as a country haven't lived up to our highest ideals."

 

Why have anthems been part of the business of sporting entertainment for so long?  

Hats off to you Mark Cuban.

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Cat Man

[-SN-]

Relic of the past; hope this spreads. 

[Cat Man]

Lots of SN 650 in this house.

Can't say we listened to much 1040 but that sucks big time BELL.

 

[4petesake]

4 minutes ago, Cat Man said:

"This should happen everywhere," New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy tweeted Wednesday. "If you think the anthem needs to be played before sporting events, then play it before every movie, concert, church service and the start of every work day at every business. What good reason is there to play the anthem before a game?"

The question Van Gundy raises has been debated for some time.

The NBA rule book does not specifically say that the anthem -- or anthems, in games involving the Toronto Raptors, the lone Canadian team in the league -- must be played before games. The only rule regarding the songs states this: "Players, coaches and trainers must stand and line up in a dignified posture along the foul lines during the playing of the American and/or Canadian national anthems."

That rule was relaxed last year in the NBA's restart bubble at Walt Disney World, when the league took no objection to players kneeling for the anthem to show their desire for an end to racial injustice and police brutality.

Players were criticized for kneeling; some of those who stood, such as Miami's Meyers Leonard and Orlando's Jonathan Isaac, also faced backlash on social media for choosing to stand. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, a graduate of the Air Force Academy and coach of the U.S. men's national team, also stood for anthems in the bubble.

It's not uncommon for some players to simply not be on the floor for the anthem, exiting for the locker room shortly before the end of the warm-up period for various reasons such as bathroom breaks before returning when starting lineups are introduced.

Though intended to be a solemn hymn, it's almost never treated as such -- fans in many arenas routinely shout over the final lines, break into applause before the song is complete and often insert their own touches into the song such as NHL fans in St. Louis chanting "Blues" over the anthem's actual last word, "brave."

Psaki said she had not spoken to President Joe Biden about the issue.

"I know he's incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the anthem and all that it represents," Psaki said. "He'd also say, of course, that part of pride in our country means recognizing where we as a country haven't lived up to our highest ideals."

 

Why have anthems been part of the business of sporting entertainment for so long?  

Hats off to you Mark Cuban.

 

I never understood why it needed to be played/sung before every game. In the same way that it began to bother me that we had to honour the military all the time.  On certain occasions fine, but definitely not for every event. It’s time to put this ceremony to bed.

[Nucker 67]

I'm okay with no anthem, I typically don't watch/listen to them anyway, sometimes the renditions make me cringe. Keep it for the Olympics, Canada Day and Remembrance Day. 

[Cat Man]

2 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

I'm okay with no anthem, I typically don't watch/listen to them anyway, sometimes the renditions make me cringe. Keep it for the Olympics, Canada Day and Remembrance Day. 

Totally.....country on country or a significant day for all to embrace. 

[Rick Blight]

For those that may not know how this tradition started.

 

he tradition of playing it at sports events got a dramatic boost at the 1918 World Series, during World War I. And the tradition of playing it before games was popularized during World War II. "We're a patriotic country and we're different from the rest of the world in that respect,” Ferris says.9 hours ago

[Rick Blight]

Those that may be opposed to the National Anthem being played before hockey games never had the pleasure of seeing a hockey game at the old Chicago Stadium.

[Cat Man]

Don't know much of Timothy Ferris.

Not sure how to read your response?

 

18 minutes ago, Rick Blight said:

Those that may be opposed to the National Anthem being played before hockey games never had the pleasure of seeing a hockey game at the old Chicago Stadium.

If you like we can grind this into to a my flag/AK 47 bigger than your's

demonstration of patriotism? 

[4petesake]

Well that didn’t last long...

 

In the wake of the NBA's statement Wednesday reiterating its long-standing policy that "all teams will play the national anthem," Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said during an appearance on ESPN's The Jump that his organization has no problem playing the anthem "at all," and that the decision to not do so to this point in the season was the product of ongoing conversations with members of the community who felt the tradition "did not fully represent them."

[Gurn]

Mark Cuban, from 20 years ago, wonders why this eras Cuban is rolling over.

A.K.A. Former radical becomes yes man with age

[canuktravella]

2 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

I'm okay with no anthem, I typically don't watch/listen to them anyway, sometimes the renditions make me cringe. Keep it for the Olympics, Canada Day and Remembrance Day. 

exactly  every game sucks  i usually mute it  should be nov 11  olympics and when cup is won  otherwise hard pass 

[Cat Man]

1 hour ago, gurn said:

Mark Cuban, from 20 years ago, wonders why this eras Cuban is rolling over.

A.K.A. Former radical becomes yes man with age

Sure but the boundaries need to be stretched and pushed.

Us plebs not much we can accomplish unless we mass! A new OCCUPY of some sorts soon..fingers crossed.

Cuban one of a few of the TOO many billionaires above/amongst/surrounding/exerting and 1% ing us whom I'll

get behind and is worthy of a quote.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Cat Man

[The Lock]

To be honest, I don't see what's wrong with having the anthem outside of making a few people getting anxious during the anthem. Can we have games without it? Sure. If anything though, I think it'll agitate the people who do want the anthem more than the people who don't. The patriotic type who won't be vocal at all about it until it's actually gone.

 

It's kind of like the Confused emoji on this forum. Do we need it? No. But now we have people who openly miss the confused emoji when no one really openly said they wanted it gone to begin with.

Edited February 11, 2021 by The Lock

[Cat Man]

16 minutes ago, The Lock said:

To be honest, I don't see what's wrong with having the anthem outside of making a few people getting anxious during the anthem. 

Scaredy cat...dip you're toe in the water of change.

[Cat Man]

2 hours ago, gurn said:

Mark Cuban, from 20 years ago, wonders why this eras Cuban is rolling over.

A.K.A. Former radical becomes yes man with age

Still a billionaire.

[The Lock]

Just now, Cat Man said:

Scaredy cat...dip you're toe in the water of change.

Not scared, just don't see how it's game-changing (pub intended) outside of the 2 minutes before each game.  

 

Also, based on that article, I don't think the problem is so much the anthem as it is the fact that there's racial injustice. Now that's a problem that needs way more attention than an anthem.

[Gurn]

Just now, Cat Man said:

Still a billionaire.

Still a human.

Still a lot of things

What was your point?

[The Lock]

Actually, thinking about it, if racial injustice and kneeling at the anthem is currently what's happening. I bet you that if we got rid of the anthem at the start of games, the people who are for the anthem could easily blame the people kneeling for racial injustice. If anything, this might make racial injustice worse. Taking something away like this is more likely to anger than to teach a lesson. It's not the solution.

 

That being said, this is me thinking out loud, but we might be playing with fire more than we think on this.

Edited February 11, 2021 by The Lock

[4petesake]

4 minutes ago, The Lock said:

Actually, thinking about it, if racial injustice and kneeling at the anthem is currently what's happening. I bet you that if we got rid of the anthem at the start of games, the people who are for the anthem could easily blame the people kneeling for racial injustice. If anything, this might make racial injustice worse.

 

That being said, this is me thinking out loud, but we might be playing with fire more than we think on this.

Even though I’d like to do away with it (other than special events) you do make a good point. Whether it’s athletes led by CK or Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the ‘68 Olympics the anthems do provide an outlet for social justice protest. With or without it you’ll never satisfy the “shut up and dribble” crowd.