Perhaps I just missed it, but why did Boyz II Men sing America the Beautiful instead of the Star Spangled Banner before the U.S. Open men’s final.
I think I turned on last night’s ladies final and someone was singing America the Beautiful for that as well.
Did our national anthem change without me being informed?
Please, please, tell me it’s unrelated to the fact that the Star Spangled Banner is about war and with tomorrow being 9/11 they wanted to avoid any “war talk”.
Because as there isn’t currently a rule that you have to perform a song at all, much less a particular one, if the USTA elects to perform a song, they get to pick which one it is. They might as well pick one that is easy to sing and sounds good.
In passing, I’ve been all over the world, and I can’t think of anywhere that the national anthem is performed so frequently, or with so little justification. What the hell does tennis have to do with patriotism?
It could be worse I guess, after 9-11 during the seventh inning stretch “Take me out to the Ballgame” was supplemented with “America the Beautiful”. If there’s ever another successful attack on US soil we’ll have to add “Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue” during pitching changes.
I’ve never understood why The Star-Spangled Banner was mandatory for any sporting event. Look…they’re games. Not Army functions, not sessions of Congress, not international treaty assemblies. If the USTA wants a nice, humble tune that will not bring up issues about the ungodly quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan, hey, knock yourselves out.
Furthermore, has there ever been any other publically performed song in the history of this country more frequently butchered, bungled, mishandled, dropped, broken, or otherwise screwed up 50 ways from Labor Day? Boyz 2 Men is an R&B group; I don’t remember them doing any past opera work. I think going easy on them was the right decision.
I don’t have a cite, but I am sure this would never happen. I know that the Star-Spangled Banner was sung at other sessions at the Open. If they didn’t sing it - and I think it’s more likely that they did and the commentators talked over it, since asking them to say nothing for two songs in a row might violate some kind of natural law - I wouldn’t read anything into it.
My point wasn’t really about whether or not it’s a good idea. I agree that it should be sung less.
My question is more about why they have stopped singing it at the U.S. Open final. It’s pretty much a standard thing to do. While tennis isn’t patriotic, the U.S. Open is a major international event and a pretty good time to sing it. It’s not like they do it for every match.
If 9/11 or modern politics factored into the decision at all, then you might consider an alternate interpretation: *The Star Spangled Banner ** commits the unforgivable sin of not bothering to mention God (at least in the first stanza, which is all anyone knows anyway). *America The Beautiful * is much more acceptable, since it explicity conflates religion and true patriotism by reminding everyone just which nation is really God’s all-time favorite!
*Or The Defence of Fort McHenry, actually-- another of my favorite bits of American Trivia That Almost No American Who is Not A Member of the SDMB Knows. Use it to flush out spies and infiltrators in your midst! Or just generally be a dick-- that’s why I usually mention it, anyway. Although if I ever did uncover a spy with that factoid, then so much the better.
I am not in any way a Boyz 2 Men fan. However I do remember them singing The Star-Spangled Banner before another sporting event, it was an important baseball game World Series or playoffs. They did one of the best versions I have ever heard. They can handle the song. That was not the reason.
