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
I swear I didn’t write this. If I had, I would have mentioned that GBA is Dubya’s personal national anthem. It was part of the deal he struck with Bud Fucking Selig when they talked about resuming MLB games post 9/11. In trade, Bud got Dubya to throw out a first pitch at a Yankees game.
NOw, a decade later, that corrupt bargain has resulted in stadium personnel treating GBA during the 7th inning stretch like a second national anthem. Take off your hat, no walking down the aisles, etc.
This is a complaint you can’t attach your name to? If this is the best you can do, you will be hearing that song at your games for a long time to come.
Reminds me of a news story I read where some teens were thrown out of a ball park for not standing up when they sang “God Bless America”. I thought it was bullshit. If it was the “Star-Spangled Banner”, then I would understand the outrage, but “God Bless America”? As far as I’m concerned, it’s no more special than any other song, and I see no reason why one should have to stand up for it.
WITH YA ALL THE WAY!!!!!!
I ‘ sing take me out’… While the GBA is playing.
ITS A FRIGGING BASEBALL GAME!!!
I agree. It’s not even the national anthem, anyway, The Star Spangled Banner is. Fortunately for me, I don’t like watching sports anyway.
Wow. They’ve ALWAYS played the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America at sports games. Games are our favorite opportunities as a nation to show exactly how xenopho-er, proud we are.
God bless this country for allowing this jerk-off to state their opinion.
God bless the country that allows a jerk-off like this to say their opinion without being beheaded
@ 7, 8, and God bless the country that allows jerk-offs like you the same.
Hey mutley, separation of state and sports…..you hear of it? Pretty important amendment to the constitution! Studied it in school. Remember school? ….hmmmmm….I wonder…….
Deal With It, whiny submitter
Shoving athiesm down your kids throat is no better than shoving religion down there. And too bad this guy’s kids memories of the ball park will be about Dad bitching over a song. Glad too live in a country where something so trivial qualifies as a problem.
Do they do this at Safeco? I don’t ever recall hearing God Bless America at a baseball game, just the national anthem, take me out the ball game & Louie Louie.
at a yankee game, i once refused to stand for ‘god bless in america’ as a protest to the then coming war in iraq. yeah, i almost got attacked. it was 100% worth it.
I agree with the I, Anonymous contributor. My family just leaves its seats and returns when the no-value-added warbling is over. Me, I either leave with them, or crank up my mp3 player or sing “The Maple Leaf Forever.”
I love Steven Weissman’s depiction of the flag-holding literal meathead being bothered by the peanut’s “pish-tosh”.
In God we trust. right? says so on our $$
where do we get off telling god what to do, anyway? shouldn’t he blight us for our presumption or insubordination or something? i’ve never been religious, so i’m not sure what happens next…floods? oh, i think i remember–it’s supposed to be fire this time, right?
@17: When it comes to trusting imaginary friends, I prefer Santa Claus.
The best thing about this is that it is signed by anonymous. I could have written it myself. I wish I would’ve. Sports are political enough on their own to be mixing government and religion into them…
Thank you anonymous, for writing this for the rest of us.
Best to you,
Anonymous too.
It’s a crappy song, anyways. I wish they would go with God Bless the USA instead. Not that I’m religious, it’s just that that song brings out the hick in all of us. What could be more American than that?
The only times I actually want to wrap myself in the flag and get all jingoistic are on the Fourth of July, and when we shoot Osama bin Laden in the face. We should really do that more often.
What the hell? I went to a Cubbies game a few weeks ago, and all we had was The Star-Spangled Banner before the game and then Take Me Out To The Ball Game during the 7th-Inning Stretch. What the fuck, other baseball teams?
This is not a trivial issue. Religious intolerance is destroying my country and shredding what’s left of democracy. Try being fired from a job because you’re not the “right” kind of person (read: fundamentalist Christian supremicist) and you’ll understand why I not only refuse to stand during GBA, but I refuse to spend a penny going to a game where the damned song is worshiped.
I’m sorry, but if GBA in any way interferes with the sausage races or the Beer Barrel Polka at Milwaukee Brewers games, life is not worth living. It took my first ballgame at a stadium OTHER than Milwaukee to figure out that not everyone sings the Beer Barrel Polka at 7th inning stretch.
“In God We Trust” has only been on our cash since 1958, and they’re considering removing it. I know someone who says she’ll stop using cash if that happens…LOL…good luck with that. And you are completely within your rights NOT to stand during that or Star Spangled Banner. It’s that whole ‘free country’ ‘freedom of speech’ sort of thing. There is no law you must stand.
@12: One doesn’t shove atheism down anyone’s throats. Doing so is by definition unnecessary, because it’s the only conclusion to arrive at when a thinking person approaches life rationally.
IA should be about people confessing stuff. Who cares what song you like or not at the freaking ballpark?
God bless America…and nobody else.
@25: That’s one reason to always carry a black Sharpie marker with you. The ridiculous “IGWT” nonsense can be easily blotted out and the currency returned to circulation.
I want more poo storm and old perv IA’s.
I had a Three-Way on an American flage last week.
Yes. I fucking hate this song. The national anthem is enough, thank you very much.
@12- Except atheists aren’t lying to their kids.
through the night with a light from a bulb
Hell yes, GBA isn’t traditional, detracts from the REAL tradition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and it’s just a shitty fucking song. Turn it off and get back to the baseball.
The song is garbage and the sentiment behind its intrusion into the seventh-inning-stretch is worse.
At MOST Safeco games, “Take Me OUt to the Ballgame” is played and sung during the 7th Inning Stretch, followed by “Louie, Louie”.
They will, occasionally, substitute GBA, on “special” days, holidays, etc.
I agree, I HATE that song, but it has mostly gone away.
This land is your land!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_land_i…
Kate Smith I love you.
Seriously, an Irving Berlin song is really what gets you? Jesus dude, you’ve got a great life if that’s what you are bitching about. Take pride in your country much you shitfuck? Next time you have to “endure” the song try closing your eyes and thinking about the millions of soldiers who have died defending our country in wars they had no choice fighting in so you can sit down in the confines of a nice stadium, surrounded by people who won’t riot and slit your throat, and sip a cold beer while you chomp on some food. Be fucking grateful your life is so easy you moronic faggotized fuckstain.
Yeah, it’s so, just fucking…horribly…positive?
*************************************************
“While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer. ”
God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home
**************************************************
@ 12,
Yes, it’s horrible shoving facts, and science, and the truth down a child’s throat. Just as bad as telling a child it’s “ok” that the priest molested them because 2000 years ago God magically raped a virgin minor so their resulting zombie son can “save” us from sin. Yep, just as awful. Heck, it’s just as bad as ripping out the still-beating hearts of pre-Columbian meso-Americans and offering them up to Huitzilopochtli so the world doesn’t end. In fact, Atheism is just as bad as blowing yourself up in front of a bus stop crowded with school children so 64-72 virgins will be awaiting your murdering a$$ in Heaven. Yep, teaching your kids actual real sh*t is just as bad as religion!
@ 12,
p.s. I think you’re a dolt.
@12 – we live in a country where people are free to bitch & complain about anything under the sun and beyond.
@7 & @8 – nice troll attempt.
@everyone else – it’s a stupid fucking song. Yeah it has little to no place & safeco but it’s a minor annoyance that we as seattleites can do something about. Just ask them to stop. You’re a fan. Get loud enough & they will listen. We do it to ticket prices all the time.
@23 – you are a very angry person.
You’re all gay. Freedom of speech, right?
On Memorial Day weekend, once again liberals show their hatred of this country.
On the other hand we truly are blessed to live in a nation where contemptible people like this anonymous coward and the collected evangelical atheists posting can spout their disgusting bilge. God Bless America.
Fuck you and the assinine horse you rode in on, Seattleboo.
Fuck you and the assinine horse you rode in on, Seattleboo.
Oops- one FU was plenty. Sorry.
“God Bless America” is a poorly written song: it doesn’t flow easily, the lyrics are awkward and hard to remember, and the melody is just plain thorny. It’s better suited to a horn band than human voices anyway. For that matter, “The Star Spangled Banner” has a huge range and is inappropriate for your average person (who has at most a range of a fifth) to sing. The lyrics are clumsy (who thought of using the challenging “whose broad stripes” to put at the place where you have to walk down to the lowest note anyway?). “America the Beautiful” is MUCH better. The melody is in stepwise motion (easy to sing!), the images are powerful and beautiful, and it’s every bit as patriotic as the others. WTF?
Oh fuck you you fuckig fuck headed fuck wad. If you don’t like the fucking song take the cock out of your mouth and stick it in your good ear. And by all means stay the fuck away from the motherfucking ballpark you fuck.