Link?

Why is the national anthem played before every game anyway?

I think it became a trend to play it before games during WWII. It became a sports tradition after the war.

^ I didn't know that; so it started as a display of patriotism.

Today however, for NFL players, it's turning into a difficult-to-avoid public display of your political allegiance; I feel sorry for the players to be caught in such a bind.

Not at all saying that one equals the other, but here is a little-know fact:-
In 1979 Ayatolla Khomeini overthrew the King of Iran and established a republic that has survived ever since. I was working in a London office which included three Iranian guys at the time, which is how I learned the following: Surprisingly soon after Khomeini took control, he issued an invitation/order to all Iranians living abroad (who of course were all listed somewhere in government files): they were to go to their nearest embassy to sign a document announcing their support for the new regime.
So there is some similarity; like the NFL players, those poor guys were caught in a situation in which they had to make a political declaration of a kind that most of us can keep to the privacy of the polling booth if we want.

Should've stopped it after the war.

The government pays the NFL millions of dollars for the good PR and Americans are ****ing idiots. If you don't want politics in your sports, don't kick them off with a round of Heil Hitler's.

It'd makes sense if it was an international league I guess.

Semi-related: how do those football players feel about the statistics on black-on-white crime?

https://www.channel4.com/news/factch...s-commit-crime

A few huge sponsors are already threatening to quit the NFL. And quite a few owners are pissed. The NFLPA is going to fight it tooth and nail.

It's hypocritical. Did ya know it's disrespectful to display a flag horizontally?

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/f40f...regame-4_3.jpg

They do this during the national anthem at most NFL games. Where's the outrage?

Quick list of Flag Etiquette Don’ts:

Don’t dip the U.S. Flag for any person, flag, or vessel.
Don’t let the flag touch the ground.
Don’t fly flag upside down unless there is an emergency.
Don’t carry the flag flat, or carry things in it.
Don’t use the flag as clothing.
Don’t store the flag where it can get dirty.
Don’t use it as a cover.
Don’t fasten it or tie it back. Always allow it to fall free.
Don’t draw on, or otherwise mark the flag.
Don’t use the flag for decoration.

https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.2...=0&w=300&h=300

They would lose more sponsors if they removed the anthem or gave the players free reign imo. Consider their conservative fan base.

Flag etiquette is a stupid non-issue.

It makes sense in internationals. Not domestic. There is only one domestic fixture here that plays the national anthem, but that's once a year. And I don't think many would notice if it stopped.

Nobody cares.

.