Originally Posted by
steelreserve
First of all, I call BS on the 2009 argument. Maybe it wasn't "expected" or enforced by rule, but it's always been pretty much just what people do. At least since the early '80s, which is what I can attest to personally, and probably much longer. I mean, there were Marines with flags and everything, sometimes a fighter jet or two flying over, you name it, and all well before some advertising deal in 2009.
In general, it was understood among everyone - including the players - that the decent thing to do is just take a minute to reflect on the positive things that contributed to you being here and participating in this sporting event, whether as a player or a spectator. And unless you really have something more important to do, not doing it makes you a dick. The teams did it too in pretty much every sporting event I can remember - baseball, football, basketball, hockey ... football may have been the only one where they didn't make a point of doing it in an organized fashion, but in general I remember them doing it.
It's not like nobody participated in it before, and then in 2009 the NFL signed an advertising deal and everyone said "holy shit, now that THAT happened, the national anthem is way more important, let's get really into it, and fuck anyone who doesn't go along!" Total bullshit cherry-picked argument with the intention (as usual with the left) of making those who disagree seem ignorant and gullible. But - nope, that's not what actually, you know ... happened.
It's that way because they are protesting by being rude to another group of people who have nothing to do with what is being protested.
As I said in the other thread, what if I tried to make my point about some unrelated subject by protesting Martin Luther King Day? Even if my cause has nothing to do putting down Martin Luther King Jr., I just pissed everyone off by being rude about an event that holds an important meaning. "But Martin Luther King fought and even died for human rights and our right to protest peacefully." Same argument, right? Whoops, guess it doesn't look so good anymore.