That woman has a very nice voice. However, there is nothing, nothing in sports, or possibly life I hate more than the false patriotism of God Bless America at a baseball game. Just sing Take Me out to the Ballgame, have a good time, and get on with it. We sing the National Anthem before the game, we don't need a goddamned mid game break to show our non-spontaneous American pride.

Link (A better version)

That woman has a very nice voice. However, there is nothing, nothing in sports, or possibly life I hate more than the false patriotism of God Bless America at a baseball game. Just sing Take Me out to the Ballgame, have a good time, and get on with it. We sing the National Anthem before the game, we don't need a goddamned mid game break to show our non-spontaneous American pride.

HEAR! HEAR!

There is nothing I hate more in life than a silly goddamned song designed to sell peanuts and crackerjack.

mitchcumstein1: That woman has a very nice voice. However, there is nothing, nothing in sports, or possibly life I hate more than the false patriotism of God Bless America at a baseball game. Just sing Take Me out to the Ballgame, have a good time, and get on with it. We sing the National Anthem before the game, we don't need a goddamned mid game break to show our non-spontaneous American pride.

After the attacks, we had a comraderie and outpouring of international support unlike any in recent memory. Sure, you can't keep that intensity up forever, but post-attack events (war, political squabbles/election) squandered a lot of the goodwill we enjoyed. I am reminded of this every time I hear some hollow-hearted rendition of this at a ballgame.

mitchcumstein1: That woman has a very nice voice. However, there is nothing, nothing in sports, or possibly life I hate more than the false patriotism of God Bless America at a baseball game. Just sing Take Me out to the Ballgame, have a good time, and get on with it. We sing the National Anthem before the game, we don't need a goddamned mid game break to show our non-spontaneous American pride.


This. Also, if Cliff Lee told me to betray America I would do it.

The ultimate irony is that Yankee Stadium security guards make you stand respectfully and not leave your section while the god damned song's playing. It was bad enough when the Flyers played this thing endlessly. When are we going to re-build the Trade Centers so they can knock this crap off?

Maybe if they threw in a Haka afterward.

Oh dear god, please stop allowing these "I videotaped my television screen" videos to go green.

mr_a: There is nothing I hate more in life than a silly goddamned song designed to sell peanuts and crackerjack.

I don't care if you ever come back!

mitchcumstein1
That woman has a very nice voice. However, there is nothing, nothing in sports, or possibly life I hate more than the false patriotism of God Bless America at a baseball game. Just sing Take Me out to the Ballgame, have a good time, and get on with it. We sing the National Anthem before the game, we don't need a goddamned mid game break to show our non-spontaneous American pride.

/Oh yeah, and THIS.

plywoodjungle: Oh dear god, please stop allowing these "I videotaped my television screen" videos to go green.

He just wanted to show the clarity of his HDTV by using his SD camcorder via YouTube...

When I pay $225/ticket to see the Dodgers, I don't give a fark if they sing "I'm a Little Teapot" - those biatches better win!

Videoed broadcast is videoed and will not be watched.

I just hope that if she ever gets deployed to a war zone that they don't shoot the Messenger.

/She's no Kate Smith. That would take about three of her.

That song was written by an Russian atheist Jew.

I hope the Youtube uploader had express written consent from MLB and the Fox network.

Something tells me he didn't.

/Something also tells me his mommy wouldn't let him TiVO it so he had to use his iPod's camera to record it.

I wonder if Ronan Tynan liked her version? Probably not if she is Jewish . . .

The only way this could be worse is to run it through Autotune, and change it to Sepia tone with false 16mm scratch effects.

And perhaps upside down.

Got enough vibrato there, Sgt. Mesesesesesesesesesesenger?

Earguy: mitchcumstein1: That woman has a very nice voice. However, there is nothing, nothing in sports, or possibly life I hate more than the false patriotism of God Bless America at a baseball game. Just sing Take Me out to the Ballgame, have a good time, and get on with it. We sing the National Anthem before the game, we don't need a goddamned mid game break to show our non-spontaneous American pride.

After the attacks, we had a comraderie and outpouring of international support unlike any in recent memory. Sure, you can't keep that intensity up forever, but post-attack events (war, political squabbles/election) squandered a lot of the goodwill we enjoyed. I am reminded of this every time I hear some hollow-hearted rendition of this at a ballgame.

It's one of those things where once you start doing it there is no really graceful way to stop that won't cause controversy.

/What do they do in Toronto?

I enjoyed listening, because her pitch and diction were so good, she let the melody speak for itself (without all the Idol-pop melisma, embellishments, etc), she kept things moving, and even sang the verse, which we rarely hear.

That said, I too wish the "tradition" of doing this hadn't started. But then, all the quasi-patriotic stuff at pro sports championship events (that our government/military willingly participate in) seems very wrong to me...........

In before someone decries the constant mention of God at a baseball game. How the hell did that happen, is Fark slipping? I think I even saw a prayer.

In the beginning (especially in the better quality version that mr_a linked to), you can distinctly hear a loud angry man yelling "Hats off!" several times. Now, I'm all for respecting the flag and my country, but being a douche about it makes me want to whack you with a rolled up copy of the Constitution.

Also, don't expect me to sing along. The song is literally a sung prayer, and a pretentious one at that.

mitchcumstein1: Just sing Take Me out to the Ballgame, have a good time, and get on with it. We sing the National Anthem before the game, we don't need a goddamned mid game break to show our non-spontaneous American pride.

Agreed. I'm glad to see some singers out there don't do that pitch-wavering on every note.

plywoodjungle: Oh dear god, please stop allowing these "I videotaped my television screen" videos to go green.

This! PLEASE!

I was watching the game at the bar. I thought it was quite telling when 95% of the people there had no idea what was going on while she was singing the verse. I actually heard someone at the table next to me ask "WTF is this shiat?"

In case you missed the highlight of last night's WS game, here is Sgt Messenger singing God Bless America

I think I saw St. Gut Free working the consessions and Baroness Frostbite handing out warm handers.


/better not be obscure.

The Icelander: That song was written by an Russian atheist Jew.

Ayn Rand wrote God Bless America?

I'd hit it.

mitchcumstein1: We sing the National Anthem before the game.

I hear more people singing along to God Bless America than I ever hear singing the National Anthem. I wish people did 'sing' the national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner is amazing when sung by a crowd. Instead the stadiums have some big name artist do it, and everyone just listens. What I would rather have the stadiums play a pre-recorded version preceded by an announcement: "And now, please stand, removed your hats, and sing along to our national anthem."

Now that Obama's in office shouldn't this be changed to "God Damn America?"

ptelg: Videoed broadcast is videoed and will not be watched.

I don't think they have the express permission of Major League Baseball to rebroadcast this.

crappy cellphone video, of a craptastic SD television. bring me the head of the admin that green lit this steaming pile of turds.

I don't get it.

mdin617: In the beginning (especially in the better quality version that mr_a linked to), you can distinctly hear a loud angry man yelling "Hats off!" several times. Now, I'm all for respecting the flag and my country, but being a douche about it makes me want to whack you with a rolled up copy of the Constitution.

Also, don't expect me to sing along. The song is literally a sung prayer, and a pretentious one at that.

"God Bless America" isn't 1/10th as pretentious as our actual national anthem.

mr_a: There is nothing I hate more in life than a silly goddamned song designed to sell peanuts and crackerjack video shot off of a f@cking television.

fixed it for me...

dodald: I wish people did 'sing' the national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner is amazing when sung by a crowd. Instead the stadiums have some big name artist do it, and everyone just listens.

Whenever we had a soloist singing the Anthem, my college band director would sing the harmony, almost absent-mindedly. If they had a group/chorus singing, he would switch to humming the brass fanfare (begins with "And the rockets' red glare").

It was slightly amusing, but also sort of patriotic.

It would be cooler if we could sing "America, fark yeah!" at sporting events...

I went to a hockey game a couple years back (military night, we got in for free), and a member of the military in uniform sang a god-awful version of our national anthem. Nothing made me more pissed off then someone, in uniform, butchering it the way she did. You aren't Beyonce, you aren't some farking bubble-gum pop singer, you are a military member. Stop making a mockery of the anthem and yourself.

/rant

I rarely, if ever, feel patriotic nowadays, but the one thing that fills me with the greatest pride is when I'm at a baseball game holding a hot dog and a beer. I just find baseball so romantic, the national anthem sung at the game always makes me feel so patriotic.