# I'm sorry what is the point of signing the national anthem if you never show the signer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2026, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944 "2026-09-10T00:29:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/1 "2026-09-10T00:29:51Z")
So I’m currently watching the Seahawks preseason game. For the national anthem they had someone sign it as another guy plays guitar. The thing is though, not once did they ever have the signer center camera. It was the players or the guitar player. Lol seriously what was the point of all that? That was about the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/2 "2026-09-10T00:36:57Z")
Wow, raise your hand if it took you an embarrassing amount of time to figure out that the OP wasn’t accidentally misspelling “singing” and “singer”. 🤚 😆 But now that I (think I) understand what your complaint is, I still don’t understand why you’re making it. Were the signer’s gestures clearly visible on camera, even though the signer wasn’t in the center of the shot? AIUI, that’s all that Deaf people need in order to be able to follow along a signed version of speech or song. (And, y’know, Deaf people enjoy watching the performer(s) even while they’re keeping an eye on the signed version, after all.) If, on the other hand, the signer was not in the shot or the signing wasn’t clearly shown at any point in the anthem, then I agree with you that the signer is pretty much useless for viewers of the broadcast performance. (Maybe still helpful to Deaf fans watching live in the stadium, though?) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/3 "2026-09-10T00:42:06Z")
I’ve noticed the same thing during the Superbowl; we see the sign language interpreter at the beginning but then they disappear from the broadcast. Perhaps the sign language is meant for the in-person audience? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/4 "2026-09-10T00:42:29Z")
It was the latter. I mean they could have at least put the bubble at the bottom corner as they often do with signers. But they couldn’t be bothered I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/5 "2026-09-10T01:10:12Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Maybe still helpful to Deaf fans watching live in the stadium, though? I asked my wife, who was a teacher of the Deaf, and she said unless there was a close up shot of the signer up on the scoreboard (and it’s possible there was a seperate camera on the signer,) the people in the stands wouldn’t be able to make out much more than arm movements. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/6 "2026-09-11T19:35:00Z")
Different team , different sport - but I know at MLB games what’s shown on the big screen is not always the same as what’s shown on the TV broadcast. I’m wondering though, what exactly is the purpose of a signer for the national anthem. I kind of understand it for speeches and even for other songs - but how many people are watching the game who both 1) don’t know the lyrics and also 2) don’t know it’s the national anthem that’s played before the game? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/7 "2026-09-11T19:42:55Z")
I expect context clues (people standing, the flag, the honor guard, etc) let even hearing impaired people understand that the national anthem is being performed. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/8 "2026-09-11T19:50:42Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I kind of understand it for speeches and even for other songs - but how many people are watching the game who both 1) don’t know the lyrics and also 2) don’t know it’s the national anthem that’s played before the game? Might I ask you to reflect on how ableist and exclusionary this is? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/9 "2026-09-11T20:38:46Z")
Song lyrics, signed, are often a garbled mess. The signer seems like(I’m guessing) they are trying to keep in some rhythm to the music. I discount that. If emergency broadcasts and weather alerts are done logically I feel better about it. Of course I’m hearing. But I’m drawn to read the hands. Entertainment is hit or miss on most things. Can’t even trust the closed caption. It’s often hilariously messed up. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/10 "2026-09-11T21:03:43Z")
My question is why sign at all when the song was guitar only? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/11 "2026-09-11T21:20:15Z")
Might I ask you to explain why it’s exclusionary and ableist? I can understand signing a speech because the audience doesn’t know in advance what’s being said.I can understand signing when the onlookers won’t otherwise even know which song is being sung. But I don’t know how it’s ableist to assume that most hearing impaired onlookers will know that it’s traditionally the national anthem that’s sung before the game or that most will know either the English lyrics or how they are normally rendered in ASL. If every signer does it a little differently like every singer does it a little differently (which I guess is possible based on @Beckdawrek 's post) , then maybe you could inform me rather than accuse me of ableism because I didn’t know something I have no way of knowing. After all, I said > I’m wondering though, what exactly is the purpose of a signer for the national anthem. not that there’s definitely no reason to do it and therefore it shouldn’t be done. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/12 "2026-09-11T21:52:50Z")
I’m confused at your confusion to why it’s done. Why _wouldn’t_ it be done? If most hearing people know the national anthem is sung before the game and most know the English lyrics, then why even sing it at all in the first place? I am not really sure why you think it should be excluded from deaf and hard of hearing people. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/13 "2026-09-11T22:05:43Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I am not really sure why you think it should be excluded from deaf and hard of hearing people. I didn’t say I don’t think it should be done. I was wondering _why_ it’s done. Is it the case that everyone signs it a little differently (which hadn’t occured to me until it was mentioned in this thrread) , like people who sing it in English each sing it a little differently? Or does every one who signs it sign it the same way, as if they were translating the lyrics? Because if it’s the second, it doesn’t seem like a performance while the first does. ( I don’t understand why it’s done at all, but that’s a different issue) ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/14 "2026-09-12T03:47:22Z")
I wonder if the ASL interpreter gestures accordingly if the singer starts on a crazy riff or a run, as is all too common with SSB singers. It’d be tempting to me to do that. I remember the _very_ animated gestures by Nic Zapko who was at Tim Walz’s during COVID briefings. She was fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/15 "2026-09-12T04:01:13Z")
I’ve seen a rock concerts where there was a person onstage signing during the show. The signer was usually not visible on the big screen, so it was probably only useful to the fraction of the audience who were close enough to see them clearly, but I suspect that this was a fairly large fraction. In addition to signing the lyrics, the signer gave animated impressions of the music during instrumental parts, playing air guitar and mimicking drumming. I thought it was cool. One of the most interesting events I saw was during a pause in the music. Someone in the audience, maybe 100 feet away from the signer, signed something to the signer on stage. The signer signed back, and they had a maybe 60 second long conversation. It occurred to me that this would have been essentially impossible for a pair of non-signers; imagine shouting a conversation across a noisy crowd to someone 100 feet away. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/16 "2026-09-12T06:04:21Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I don’t understand why it’s done at all, but that’s a different issue If no one ever bothered you sign the national anthem, “because everyone knows the words”, then no one (who was deaf) would know the words. Why burger playing the audio of the national anthem? Everyone knows what it sounds like. 🤷‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/17 "2026-09-12T11:49:44Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I wonder if the ASL interpreter gestures accordingly if the singer starts on a crazy riff or a run, as is all too common with SSB singers. It’s not uncommon for ASL interpreters to interpret audience applause (which can look something like “jazz hands” to non-ASL speakers). So what do they do when the stadium crowd inevitable starts clapping and cheering over the words “…and the home of the brave”? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/18 "2026-09-12T12:23:07Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > If no one ever bothered you sign the national anthem, “because everyone knows the words”, then no one (who was deaf) would know the words. What actually makes you think all hearing people know they words? I’ve seen actual anthem singers that don’t seem to. Stadium should have a bouncing ball with lyrics on the big screen. Works for both the hearing and the deaf. Like my brother, a 50s Milwaukee baseball fan, said, he thought the song ended with “and the home of the Braves!” ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/19 "2026-09-12T12:24:03Z")
Why is it done? Same reason the national anthem is done by these leauges. Virtue signaling. There’s no requirement sporting events have the national anthem played and nothing inherently American about them. Just a way to show how patriotic and inclusive these businesses are. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944/20 "2026-09-12T12:26:36Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m wondering though, what exactly is the purpose of a signer for the national anthem. I kind of understand it for speeches and even for other songs - but how many people are watching the game who both 1) don’t know the lyrics and also 2) don’t know it’s the national anthem that’s played before the game? Well, by the same token, what’s the purpose of the person singing it out loud? All the hearing people know the words, too, so they don’t need to hear it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-what-is-the-point-of-signing-the-national-anthem-if-you-never-show-the-signer/1032944.md?page=2)