Goddamn “God Bless America” is ruining baseball. It used to be that a visit to the ballpark was an escape to a better world—until right after 9/11, when the jingoistic jingle elbowed aside “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” I understand why fear drives people to wear their flag and religion on their sleeve (even though the other guys are killing for God, too). But get over it! The world has always been a dangerous place—anarchists tried to blow up Wall Street in September 1920. It’s no excuse to shove your religion and patriotism (the last refuge of tyrants and scoundrels) down my throat and the throats of my children in a Faustian bargain for a day at the ballpark. “Don’t be an asshole,” you say. “‘God Bless America’ isn’t any more religious than ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.'” Okay, we’ll compromise. I’ll be happy with equal time for John Lennon’s “Imagine” over the Safeco Field loudspeakers. What’s that you say? Too political? Atheistic? BINGO!
—Anonymous
@22 well maybe that’s why the cubs always loose.
haha but seriously religious people, keep it the fuck in church once in a while will ya? not everyone wants to hear your superstitious nonsense all the fuckin’ time.
They do not play GBA at Safeco lately, just good ol’ Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Chill the fuck out.
– Mariner’s Season Ticket Holder
The GBA does not belong in a non-sectarian sporting event at a public stadium. How unfair is that to the Budhist players who might not appreciate the blessings of this strange warrior god that our xenophobes patronize. What the fuck does god have to do with it. The GBA belongs in Tea Party.rallies, republican convemtios and at Santorum speeches. ( no, not the “frothy mixture . . .”), the Other Santorum from PA. And hey.@40, the soldiers you refer to fought and died so we Americans would not have to listen to songs based on the religious preferences of our government leaders. Exception, of course, is Louie Louie which embodies a secular party force far more powerful than the religious myths.
I wish I had the blind faith that is required to be an atheist. It seems like a logical science and facts based religion.
The only thing I can’t get behind is their jihadist view of everyone that doesn’t believe in this brand of faith.
For those wondering, GBA is played at all Sunday games and on holidays such as Memorial Day and Independence Day.
@9 The Cold War is over. There are not many countries left where the failure to ritually salute the state is punished.
A few years ago, I was watching a soccer match at a bar in Ireland, and the bartender was amazed to hear that we play the national anthem before every game. Only the US feels the need to inject nationalism into a simple game.
I’m an atheist, and I just don’t give a fuck. Don’t like the song? Go wait in line for a $10 beer. (Come to think of it, it’s the overpriced beers that are *really* ruining baseball.)
@45 “Liberals” don’t hate this country, they want to improve it by making it a place with more tolerance. Not having “God Bless America” being played at ballparks doesn’t mean that the terrorists have won or whatever the heck you’re worried about. If you want your God to bless America, then put it in your personal prayers.
I love singing songs, patriotic or otherwise, at sporting events. I will dance to any song they pump on the loudspeakers, a 30 woman wiggling like the 12 year olds on the jumbotron, and imo singing “take me out to the gall game” is the best part of baseball. I wish we sang it more. The national anthem? Totally makes this librul teary with patriotism.
But like anon, GBA bothers me. No matter how much I love to sing with thousands of other people while kinda drunk, the “gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawd bless amerrricuaaaaaaaa” part just irks me. It’s out of place and inappropriate.
Wow, I always wondered if there really were people with sticks lodged so far up their asses that they get all bent out of shape over a simple song. And here they are, all on I, Anonymous. I mean, I can’t stand rap and country, and that stupid Dog Days of Summer song, but my day isn’t ruined by hearing it. Are these the same losers that cry if you say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays” and get offended if someone bows their head to thank their god for their meal?
Get over yourself, the world doesn’t revolve around you. The rest of us are forced to deal with your pathetic ass, so shut up and deal with a simple song that makes 99% of the people around you feel good and proud of their country.
there’s nothing “american” about celebrating the views of the rural patriarchal white christian monoculture. america – the YEW ESS AYE i love and respect — is culturally pluralistic, tolerant, and embraces ALL and NO gods simultaneously. “god bless america” on repeat is just good ol’ ignurnt whiteboy cultural imperialism on its usual mandated parade schedule, trying to make sure its particularly virulent flag is the one waved uber alles. i’d love to hear some OTHER anthems representative of our shared cultural composition — especially in seattle — played at these games, but unfortunately for ALL of us and our greater edification (y’know, what builds tolerance), the sportin’ lads will have nothin’ to do with anythin’ what doesn’t continually affirm the correctness of their own “trucks ‘n’ bibles” subculture biases.
Who is this God person anyway?
@61 Do you not like rap and country because of aesthetics or ideology? How is someone bowing their head in prayer or wishing you a merry xmas at a store at all similar to encouraging people to equate and celebrate patriotism and religion on a large scale at a public sporting event?
Not sure you understand what we’re talking about here.
Just once, I want to see somebody, on televised game, get introduced for the “God Bless America” break and launch into “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”(RIP, Gil Scott Heron) “California Uber Alles”(at a Dodgers or Angels home game) or maybe “Volunteers” by the Jefferson Airplane(or even just the “Up Against The Wall, Motherfucker!” chant from that one).
Wouldn’t you love to hear the play-by-play team explain THAT one?
OR, at least, just for once sing it as “Allah Bless America”.
I don’t mind GBA all that much, though I’d prefer BB w/o GBA. Just don’t expect me to stand & remove my hat – I did that during the anthem.
I’m more bothered by the forced patriotism at ball games and elsewhere. I get irritated when told to rise and remove my cap for the national anthem. I like this country and can only think of a handful of other places I’d rather have been born, but swearing loyalty oaths in the form of a pledge or slavish fealty to a flag or song seems counter to what this country is supposed to be all about.
I do not remove my cap and have actually been accosted for that. I tell these bootstrappers I am a veteran and it is proper for me to remained covered during the national anthem. It isn’t, unless I am in uniform, but it usually shuts their pieholes.
GBA is an easy song to sing, it’s about the right length and it makes most people feel all warm and fuzzy; you know, apple pie, mom and baseball are All American to the core (even though baseball’s played worldwide).
I just close my eyes and do my best Kate Smith impersonation. I can sing a song and not believe a bit of it, it’s just a collection of words. It has meaning to some people, but for me, it’s just a chance to clear out my pipes and do some warbling.
Don’t sing it if you don’t want to, don’t stand if you don’t feel you should; this is America and you are still (somewhat) free.
Try being a foreign national when they do GBA/the national anthem/Pledge of Allegiance/etc. Even if you stand and do nothing, you get looked at like you have two heads.
GOD BLESS VESPUCCI-LAND!
Does anyone even know what “God bless” means? Are we ordering around God? Is it a request? Are we blessing God for America? From the context you’d think it means thanking God, but how do you get “thank you for America” out of “God bless America”.
I DON”T GET IT
Sports = religion. Fodder for the masses. The masses are dumb and religious (that’s redundant, I realize) and the ball field is just another church for them.
Go on a hike, visit the bookstore or see a SIFF film if you don’t want to be surrounded by ignorant mouthbreathing suburbanites with their Walmart flags and beer hats. Or go play baseball instead of watching it with idiots…many of whom are too fat to even play. Your brain will thank you.
@73: You are the smartest kid in the pool. Gold star for you!
The Anthem and the 7th inning stretch (no matter WHAT song is being sung/played) is the best time to pee. Unfortunately that shit is piped through the bathroom speakers at Safeco…
#71
“By the way, Domini Domini Domini, yer all Catholics now, God Bless you…and Good Luck”…
(to complete the Firesign Theatre reference).
I love this article, like others I should have written this. I go to a lot of games and am very pissed off and annoyed by MLB and there playing of this song as if we should care about it. First off it was written by a Canadian that was never naturalized. This is the game I love and I do not want this to ruin our game. My wife gives me the bad eye when I don’t remove my cap during this annoying moment. The nice thing is that they only occasionily play this at M’s games. I go to games for several reasons one of them is to get away from all of this fake patriotism. Really do we need to continue to push this whole attack on us. Give it up, no one goes to a baseball game for the patriotism, they go to escape and have fun.
Oh Larry I only wish that you would crawl back into whatever fetid and diseased asshole that you were born from or failing that someone should explain to your whore of a mother how to flush a commode.