# The most quintessentially moment of Americana **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2023, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536 "2023-07-04T05:28:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/21 "2023-07-05T21:44:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So “Everybody loves it- cities and farms, coast to coast, mountains to prairies” as long as it is in Boston? The 1812 Overature is associated with the 4th of July because of the Boston Pops. Stars and Strips Forever had a big head start but the Boston Pops was fairly influential in shaping popular musical tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/22 "2023-07-05T21:48:34Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Overall, it’s fine. But I didn’t get goosebumps or anything. Maybe there is a tradition where people are conditioned to think they are supposed to applaud during the piccolo solo, the same way there is a tradition where people are conditioned to think they are supposed to stand up during the Hallelujah Chorus of Handel’s _Messiah_? But to anyone on the outside looking in, you wonder wtf just happened? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/23 "2023-07-05T22:42:18Z")
Another bit of quintessential Americana – the Alabama - Auburn football game, [as seen through foreign eyes (British media personality Stephen Fry)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuPeGPwGKe8). Ending with a flyover, of course. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2023, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/24 "2023-07-05T22:58:21Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Agree that we do have great patriotic songs, but some countries do it well too. Google “Last night of the Proms” to see how the Brits do it. I took my own advice and [found this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnzSqFKSlw4), which I’d never seen before. It literally gave me goosebumps. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/25 "2023-07-06T00:16:20Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > “Everybody loves it- cities and farms, coast to coast, mountains to prairies” as long as it is in Boston? Beats me – I never made the claim. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/26 "2023-07-06T00:18:04Z")
Best thing is, the flyovers don’t cost the taxpayer an additional dime. The military pilots **have** to do a certain amount of flying every now and then just to stay current in their jets, so flying over the stadium is no different than flying over empty grassland. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/27 "2023-07-06T00:21:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The military pilots **have** to do a certain amount of flying every now and then just to stay current in their jets, so flying over the stadium is no different than flying over empty grassland. Except a mistake could be more messy. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/28 "2023-07-06T00:31:09Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Best thing is, the flyovers don’t cost the taxpayer an additional dime Hmmm. For some reason the US military pays the NFL for the privilege of flying over the stadiums. Or did. I’m not clear if that’s still happening. > **[Military Jet Flyovers: Government records show NFL teams have received...](https://www.safeskiescleanwaterwi.org/military-jet-flyovers-government-records-show-nfl-teams-have-received-millions-from-the-department-of-defense/)** > > In the wake of the F-16 flyovers over Camp Randall yesterday, we are wondering who is paying for this. Here’s some interesting information. The sound of a fighter jet flying overhead is unfor… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/29 "2023-07-06T00:41:33Z")
I made the claim, but I’ve never been to Boston. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/30 "2023-07-06T01:14:46Z")
This is my go-to version of The Stars and Stripes Forever. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/31 "2023-07-06T01:28:21Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Except a mistake could be more messy. What sort of mistake do you think would happen here? They’re not flying 14 inches above the stadium or anything - they’re several thousand feet up. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/32 "2023-07-06T01:29:15Z")
This is a feel good thread about American identity. As a Canadian, the most American thing to me is singing the national anthem in an ostentatious way - holding notes for long periods of time or other acts of musical effluorishment. However, I cannot fairly answer this question. This differs from the most American place - Las Vegas, endeavouring to take ersatz copies of great global monuments and reproduce them in the desert, adding gambling, shows, shopping, partying, tourism, food, impulsivity and regret. This also differs from the most American thing of all - the Covid-19 vaccine. There is nothing more American than the brightest minds in the world rushing to consolidate two decades of research, into making an unlikely game-changing novel vaccine actually effective against a dangerous challenger. And nothing more American than millions of people refusing to take it, because they don’t want to, or believe it effective, and you can’t make me so back off, or seemingly challenge their individual right to decide what is right for them and which truthiness has greater cogency. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/33 "2023-07-06T01:33:39Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > This also differs from the most American thing of all - the Covid-19 vaccine. There is nothing more American than the brightest minds in the world rushing to consolidate two decades of research, into making an unlikely vaccine actually effective against a dangerous challenger. And nothing more American than millions of people refusing to take it, because they don’t want to, or believe it effective, or seemingly challenge their individual right to decide what is right for them and which truthiness has greater cogency. I think this might be the right answer. It couldn’t get more American if Betty Ross herself embroidered it on grandma’s pantaloons and ran it up the flagpole. I’d sure as hell salute it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/34 "2023-07-06T01:39:36Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > What sort of mistake do you think would happen here? This kind. > **[Sknyliv air show disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sknyliv_air_show_disaster)** > > The Sknyliv air show disaster occurred on Saturday, 27 July 2002, when a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27UB piloted by Volodymyr Toponar (of the Ukrainian Falcons) and co-piloted by Yuriy Yegorov crashed during an aerobatics presentation at Sknyliv airfield near Lviv, Ukraine. The accident killed 77 people and injured 543, 100 of whom were hospitalized. It is the deadliest air show accident in history. > More than 10,000 spectators attended the air show, staged to commemorate the 60th anniversar... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/35 "2023-07-06T01:55:36Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I made the claim, but I’ve never been to Boston. Well, that all works out, then ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/36 "2023-07-06T02:08:11Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > This kind. So either you’ve never been to a sporting event where there’s been a flyover, or you’ve never been to an air show. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/37 "2023-07-06T02:17:45Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > So either you’ve never been to a sporting event where there’s been a flyover, or you’ve never been to an air show. Absolutely 100% true to both, but your seeming claim that they couldn’t hit the stadium because they are over a thousand feet up when they fly over is nonsensical. It only requires that the plane starts falling _before_ it reaches the stadium. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2023, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/38 "2023-07-06T02:30:40Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > As a Canadian, the most American thing to me is singing the national anthem in an ostentatious way - holding notes for long periods of time or other acts of musical effluorishment. However, I cannot fairly answer this question. > > This differs from the most American place - Las Vegas, endeavouring to take ersatz copies of great global monuments and reproduce them in the desert, adding gambling, shows, shopping, partying, tourism, food, impulsivity and regret. How about completely botching the Canadian national anthem…in Las Vegas? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KpXzASiXX8U/hqdefault.jpg "Oh Canada in Las Vegas") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpXzASiXX8U) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/39 "2023-07-06T02:46:21Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It only requires that the plane starts falling _before_ it reaches the stadium. Yes, I’m aware how gravity and trajectories work. Did you want to keep equating a formation of planes performing a straight-line trajectory at 1000+ feet with multiple aircraft performing acrobatic maneuvers at a couple dozen feet above an airfield at trajectories seemingly directly at each other? Are you familiar with the term “margin of error”? There are orders of magnitudes of differences between these two scenarios that it’s simply absurd to compare them beyond “they both involve airplanes”. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/40 "2023-07-06T02:49:00Z")
I simply made the off-hand mention that the crash of a plane in a crowded area could be more messy than the crash of a plane over an open field. I’m not wasting any more time on a tangent that disputes that fucking obvious basic fact. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536.md?page=3)