Seventh Inning Stretch

Here's some thoughts that have been mulling in my mind for quite a while, but I always forget to write about them when I'm at the computer. This story today has finally given me the reminder I needed to put down some thoughts on the matter.

So Carlos Delgado(1st Basemen for the Florida Marlins) still won't stand for the singing of "God Bless America" at a ballgame this year, due to how he feels that Major League Baseball has tied the memory of 9/11 and the song to the war in Iraq. His manager supports his freedom to decline to participate and his ballclub does as well.
So do I.

I don't support it for his reasoning, albeit one can construct such an argument without much hard work. I don't support it on any type of "free speach" grounds, although I can definitely see how that is also a practical argument and one that would stand up to intense scrutiny of almost any sort. No, my support of his stance is much more simple than that.

I support Carlos Delgado and his right to refuse to stand for the singing of "God Bless America" because there is no reason for him to have to stand. Did you catch that? He doesn't have to stand because he doesn't have to stand. It is in no way derogatory for a person to refuse to stand during the singing of a song that is not considered the anthem for a country. He is not showing disrespect for the United States, our troops or the song. It is a song. Period.

It is a piece of music that was written by Irving Berlin in 1918 for a musical he was creating. It was left out of the musical and slightly reworked in 1938, when it was first released to radio and record.(footnote) It was instantly a hit and has become one of the quintessential songs of American patriotism. It gains particularly high attention during times of war and/or crisis. It is a great song, but it is still just a song.

The government of the United States of America recognizes it for its musical and lyrical attributes(copyright laws), but it has never established the song as any sort of officially sanctioned song of the United States. The last time I checked, "The Star Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key is still our national anthem and, as such, is the only song that would demand standing during its playing.

There are other songs that, due to steep tradition and emotional response, evoke a standing ovation when played. For instance, "Here Come the Bride" is played and everyone stands out of respect for the bride. During Handel's Messiah when the "Hallelujah Chorus" is played/sung, it is tradition to stand. This was supposedly started when King George III stood during his first listening of the piece at a performance(many people have differing reasons to why he stood, and even some doubt that he ever did stand or was even there).

Perhaps Major League Baseball is attempting to promote an new tradition. Or perhaps everyone stands because "God Bless America" is played/sung during the middle of the seventh inning, when the tradition of the "seventh-inning stretch" is invoked. So, it appears that "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" which was a long-standing favorite amongst baseball fans has been replaced with "God Bless America". Is that right? I can see both sides of the argument, but I lean more towards wanting the old song back.

I have a couple of reasons for this thinking. First, and foremost, there's nothing quite so nauseating as seeing thousands of drunk people stand suddenly and try to pretend to be somber or respectful about a song, when they've just spent the previous two hours yelling obscenities at players, managers, umpires and fellow fans. Secondly, it appears that this "tradition" is already being made into something I believe it should not be. There is no reason to expect people to stand, remove their caps and salute the American flag during the performance of this song. While I understand the sentiments of the song, as it has been tied to the attacks of 9/11 (thanks in part to a televised performance by politicans on Capital Hill), I do not see the reasoning behind why it continues to be performed during the seventh-inning stretch.

It may seem silly for Carlos Delgado to refuse to stand during the performance of "God Bless America", but I understand where he is coming from. I stand when it is played, merely because it is the seventh-inning stretch. I sing along from time-to-time because I enjoy singing. I do not remove my cap because I do not where one. I do not salute the flag because "God Bless America" is not my national anthem.

I'd rather stand and sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and act silly during the seventh inning stretch of a ballgame than to try and become suddenly serious and retrospective. It's that whole part of "buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack" that gets me I think. I go to a ballgame to have fun and be entertained. From the behavior of some of the people around me, they go for either the same reason or to drink their stress away(or both).

Let's allow the seventh inning stretch to be fun again. Let's "root, root, root for the hometeam" and sing along with the organ and have a grand old time. Let us not forget the men and women who are fighting overseas and that have died to give us that freedom, but let us remember them by celebrating what makes America the great nation that it is.