Has anyone ever wondered how or why the National Anthem started to be played before a sporting event? Why not at operas or movies or other events that bring people together?
Here you go:
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"In early September 1814, Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer and amateur poet, accompanied American Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner to negotiate a prisoner release with several officers of the British Navy. During the negotiations, Key and Skinner learned of the British intention to attack the city of Baltimore, as well as the strength and positions of British forces. They were not permitted to leave for the duration of the battle and witnessed the bombardment of Baltimore's Fort McHenry on September 13 and 14. Inspired by the American victory and the sight of the American flag flying high in the morning, Key wrote a poem titled "The Defence of Fort McHenry."
Key set the lyrics to the anthem of the London-based Anacreontic Society, "The Anacreontic Song." (Nine years earlier, Key had used the same tune for “When the Warrior Returns (from the Battle Afar)” to celebrate Stephen Decatur’s return from fighting the Barbary pirates, which included the line “By the light of the Star Spangled flag of our nation.”)
The poem was taken to a printer, who made broadside copies of it. A few days later, the Baltimore Patriot and The Baltimore American printed the poem with the note "Tune: Anacreon in Heaven." Later, Carrs Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together as "The Star Spangled Banner."
The song gained popularity over the course of the 19th century and was often played at public events like parades and Independence Day celebrations (and, on occasion, sporting events). In 1889, the Secretary of the Navy ordered it the official tune to be played during the raising of the flag. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that it be played at all military ceremonies and other appropriate occasions, making it something of an unofficial national anthem.
After America's entrance into World War I, Major League Baseball games often featured patriotic rituals, such as players marching in formation during pregame military drills and bands playing patriotic songs. During the seventh-inning stretch of Game One of the 1918 World Series, the band erupted into "The Star-Spangled Banner." The Cubs and Red Sox players faced the centerfield flag pole and stood at attention. The crowd, already on their feet, began to sing along and applauded at the end of the song.
Given the positive reaction, the band played the song during the next two games, and when the Series moved to Boston, the Red Sox owner brought in a band and had the song played before the start of each remaining contest. After the war (and after the song was made the national anthem in 1931), the song continued to be played at baseball games, but only on special occasions like opening day, national holidays, and World Series games.
During World War II, baseball games again became venues for large-scale displays of patriotism, and technological advances in public address systems allowed songs to be played without a band. "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played before games throughout the course of the war, and by the time the war was over, the pregame singing of the national anthem had become cemented as a baseball ritual, after which it spread to other sports."
Reference:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/22150/why-do-we-sing-national-anthem-sporting-events_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
So, allow me to play devils advocate.
The topic of "something" being hijacked to create a platform for a topic that is of concern to a particular group is the issue. Football players sitting or kneeling during the national anthem to bring attention to police brutality against African Americans.
OK
One could argue that sports were hijacked to create a platform to bring awareness of war and boost moral (propaganda). At the time baseball was a white pastime played by white people for teams owned by white men. So, when the national anthem was played at baseball games, and soon other sports, it was widely accepted. There might have been dissenters... but if there were, their voices were small and there was no platform for their voice to be heard. The population of the united states was around 106 million people where 94 million were white and about 10 million were black. The other population were.. you know, them pesky native Americans, Asian and Latino folks Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_racial_and_ethnic_demographics_of_the_United_States)
Remember this:
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"Robinson broke into baseball when America was a deeply segregated nation. In 1946, at least six African Americans were lynched in the South. Restrictive covenants were still legal, barring blacks (and Jews) from buying homes in many neighborhoods—not just in the South. Only a handful of blacks were enrolled in the nation's predominantly white colleges and universities. There were only two blacks in Congress. No big city had a black mayor.
It is difficult today to summon the excitement that greeted Robinson's achievement. The dignity with which Robinson handled his encounters with racism—including verbal and physical abuse on the field and in hotels, restaurants, trains, and elsewhere—drew public attention to the issue, stirred the consciences of many white Americans, and gave black Americans a tremendous boost of pride and self-confidence. Martin Luther King Jr. once told Dodgers star Don Newcombe, another former Negro Leaguer, "You'll never know what you and Jackie and Roy [Campanella] did to make it possible to do my job."
Source:
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/04/the-real-story-of-baseballs-integration-that-you-wont-see-in-i-42-i/274886/_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
It not that far of a stretch to hear non white Americans seeing the American flag as being synonymous with the confederate flag. Just ask any native American. Maybe it's just whites don't like their tradition being hijacked.
How did NASCAR get involed in this thread let along some dude bringing the origins of the National Anthem?
Got to love the OFF TOPIC.
Mak
by RiverDog » Fri Jun 08, 2018 8:01 pm 
