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The NFL's "National Anthem" openings are getting...odd. [1]

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Date: 2022-11-24

It probably won't be long before we see this at the start of an NFL game...

This is not an intellectually-searing thought piece or in-depth analysis of American social traditions. It’s just that I’m watching the Thanksgiving Day Fox NFL broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys vs. NY Giants, and it’s kinda creeping me out.

We’ve known for some time now that the DoD has paid a considerable amount of money to professional sports teams- the NFL in particular- to promote patriotism and images giving tacit, subtle support to the military. While it’s not clear exactly what the money is allocated for, reports do show that some of it goes to helping the NFL stage these dramatic presentations at the start of games where the national anthem is played, fighter jets whizz over the stadium, and we’re shown images of uniformed color guards and soldiers serving in distant lands. A brief phase of NFL players taking-the-knee during the ceremonies did allow America to pause a bit and think about what this all represented. But now that Colin Kaepernick has been effectively exorcised from the media landscape, the NFL’s embrace of patriotic display has taken a decided weird turn.

The opening of the Cowboy-Giants game featured the National Anthem performed by the official Dallas Cowboys trumpet player Freddie Jones. Cool that the Cowboys even have an “official trumpet player”, and yes, he’s good.

But while Jones played a tall, blond Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders- one who could easily land a role in any remake of Stepford Wives- stood next him, waving her arms around in apparent sympathetic movements. At first I thought she might be making some sign language of the lyrics (no accompanying vocals to Jones’ trumpet playing), but by the looks of her erratic hand gestures, it’s not likely the movements were choreographed or even rehearsed. I thought I would see a line of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders coming to join their team member in a routine, but nope, just the one Tall Blond. Other than her pseudo-dance routine, The Cheerleader stood firmly in one spot, a huge plastic grin plastered to her face. Luckily the camera stayed mostly on trumpeter Jones, otherwise it would have just been too ridiculous-looking to take even a little bit seriously.

W-to-the-T-to-the-F! I’m praying that some semi-curious journalist is going to ask what-in-the-world this Cheerleader was supposed to be doing, but I doubt it. My only guess is that a Black musician with shoulder-length dreadlocks wasn’t American-looking enough to bring over whatever patriotic gestalt the NFL intended, so it was decided a Pretty Blonde Woman was needed to make that portion of their audience identifying with Christian nationalism happy.

I’m just glad the NBA doesn’t think they need flag-worshiping to keep White people interested in their sport. I’ll update this diary if-and-when I find some photos and/or media reports of this really odd display of so-called American patriotism.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/24/2138258/-The-NFL-s-National-Anthem-openings-are-getting-odd

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