This means war. The reference is a double entendre, denoting both the latest attack on something (anything) sports-related and the “war anthem” routinely played in this country before sporting events. If you’re wondering which war anthem that would be, ESPN “Buy and Sell” panelist Kevin Blackistone is talking about the Star-Spangled Banner (h/t Allahpundit at Hot Air).
The panel discussion centers on the specially designed uniforms to be worn on Nov. 16 by the Northwestern University (football) Wildcats, which were designed by Under Armour to honor the Wounded Warriors Project. The design, which features what many see as a blood-spattered Stars and Stripes, has been assailed as “gore porn.”
Whatever you may think of the design, Blackistone dislikes it or “sells it” in the vernacular of the show, in which “buy” signifies approval and “sell” a thumbs-down. But his comments, which begin around the 0:50 mark in the video, are not limited to the uniform under scrutiny:
If you sell this along with me, you should also be selling the rest of the military symbolism that embraces sports, whether it be the singing of a war anthem to open every game, whether it’s going to get a hot dog and being able to sign up for the army at the same time…. [Emphasis added]
The custom of playing the national anthem at athletic competitions is universal. Witness the playing of the national anthem of the gold medalist’s country of citizenship following events at the Olympics. Most national anthems, moreover, are patriotic hymns that commemorate a nation’s struggle for sovereignty.
Maybe Blackistone is right and that martial music should be struck from sporting events. It would seem, however, that his comments derive from a deeper, left-leaning dislike of the U.S. military in general. In any case, if Blackistone’s commentary is going to devolve into a diatribe against the military and all it stands for, why is he willing to countenance a sport like football, which is as close to hand-to-hand combat as a peaceful enterprise is apt to get?
Related Articles
- CA high school feeling pressure to drop offensive ‘Arab’ mascot
- Our new National Anthem?
- Schumer: Beyoncé has not apologized to me for lip-synching National Anthem
- 5 myths about the Stars and Stripes
- Another singer butchers Star-Spangled Banner
- Bill Press declares war … on the National Anthem (Photos)
- The national anthem deserves better than Christina Aguilera
- Proposed IN state bill would penalize ‘inappropriate’ singing of national anthem
- American Indian rights group receives unexpected reaction to thought experiment
- Post Office to destroy ‘unsafe’ stamps
- Obama: I’d consider changing Redskins’ name
- University refuses to find replacement for non-PC white male mascot
- For Slate mum’s the word (when it comes to the Washington Redskins)
- Journalist upset real Indians aren’t offended by ‘Redskins’
- Congress vexed about name Washington ‘Redskins’ (again)
- Pranked CA TV station IDs pilots of doomed Asiana flight as ‘Wi Tu Lo,’ ‘Ho Lee Fuk,’ etc. (Updated)
- Politically correct new team names for the Washington Redskins
- Oh, goody! Another city bans ‘potentially offensive’ language
- NYC Dept of Ed publishes its list of 50 ‘forbidden words’
- Time to ethnically cleanse English? Not a Chinaman’s chance
- Meet the newest ‘diverse’ group needing your pity: Asian Americans
- School claims 7-year-old is racist for asking classmate about skin color
- NJ boy suspended from school because Muslim girl overheard him say “Taliban”