Play baseball, not Boss' patriot's game

[hadrons]

By now, we know George Steinbrenner will never stop his crusade. The man once convicted of illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon, a crime that struck at the very heart of our democratic process, cannot resist telling us what a great American he is.

So we must endure layer after layer of patriotic displays at Yankee baseball games in the Bronx, ponderous and embarrassing shows that have nothing to do with the sport. We come to watch Derek Jeter, and we end up at another political rally that would scare any visitor from another nation. Then we are supposed to shut up about it, or we are terrible citizens and Steinbrenner has out-Americaned us once again.

....

None of this creeping nationalism has anything to do with baseball. It doesn't belong at a ballpark, the way it doesn't belong at a theater or any other forum of entertainment. But we get it, more and more, from the man who wraps himself in pinstripes and the flag.

Ron Gardenhire had the nerve last week to say something about this matter, complaining that his pitchers shouldn't have to sit through more than six minutes of dead baseball time before throwing in the bottom of the seventh. The Twins manager said that his pitcher, Brad Radke, stiffened during the long break in blustery weather.

So Steinbrenner took on Gardenhire over the weekend, while chatting with a local columnist from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "He (Gardenhire) was critical of us in New York, because we spent too long celebrating America," he told his buddy, Sid Hartman. "And I'll fight him on that any day."

....

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/124289p-111550c.html

....

I was at a Yanks game recently (I'm a Met fan, but a friend won a pair of tickets) and there was a 7th inning moment of silence in remembrance of our armed forces and an overwrought rendition of "God Bless America" that seems to lasts forever and it really left a bad taste in my mouth because you do feel coerced into it and you know that Steinbrenner doesn't give a damn about vet benefits being cut or those soldiers suffering in Iraq

email the writer (Filip Bondy at [e-mail]) a thanks because you know the freepers will be all-over him

[dajabr]

1. It's second nature for me now to flip to another channel...

The minute the 7th inning stuff starts. I miss plain old, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"

[CPschem]

2. Who cares?

I love baseball and i love the Yankees. I couldn't possibly care less about Steinbrenner's politics or whether or not someone sings God Bless America during a break in the game. Yeah, Steinbrenner's a money-hungry jerk- get over it. It's not like the Yanks have a Bush/Cheney bumper sticker giveaway night...jeez.

[HardWiredDemocrat]

3. Animal House

"He (Gardenhire) was critical of us in New York, because we spent too long celebrating America," he told his buddy, Sid Hartman. "And I'll fight him on that any day."

Sounds like Otter's student government defense argument in Animal House.

Just another reason to be a Red Sox fan.

[CPschem]

5. i hope Trot gets another big hit

i really enjoyed his sermon following the last one. moron.

[LoneStarLiberal]

4. Great Piece

It really turns me off to have politics invade the sporting arena.

I had a crusty old classical history professor as an undergrad who was also a confirmed blue-collar communist from the labor strikes of the 1930s. He used to say that professional sports was one of the greatest tools of social control ever concieved by government.

When I asked him for some data or proof to back this up, he simply said: "Who pays for stadiums? Who gives tax breaks for teams? Who uses municipal resources for sports instead of schools?"

Even though I don't much buy into the "argument by exceptionalism" bit, the man had a good point.

[Evil_Dewers]

6. The Spankmees and Mutts still play...

"God Bless MerKKKa, and no place else" at each ballgame.

King George is a convicted felon pardoned by St. Ronald Raygun.

9/11 was terrible. But please get a grip.