Monday, November 03, 2014

Reggie Wayne Reaction to Star Spangled Banner: Tears

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Though I am a football fan, my schedule doesn't allow me to watch much television, so I have been missing an awful lot of games.  I enjoy sports, but I have my priorities.

Tonight, while working on materials for the Constitution seminars I will be offering after the New Year, I had ESPN's Monday Night Football on the tube.  As I always do, when the National Anthem began, I rose from my chair, and saluted the flag in my office until the end of the song.

The rendition launching tonight's game was a beautiful version by trumpeter Chris Botti.  As they moved the camera around the players, I so happened to look away from my flag for a moment to see Reggie Wayne, famed receiver for the Indianapolis Colts, dropping tears.  I don't know what Wayne's political convictions are, but anyone who shows emotion during the Star Spangled Banner, is someone who gets my attention.

As an American patriot, there are times when I do the same.  When you listen to the words of the song, and you realize the sacrifices made by so many in history to ensure we are indeed a nation of free people, the song can strum the emotions.

Does the tears reveal that Reggie Wayne is a little more conservative than most faces you see on the television screen?  Perhaps.  It doesn't matter, really, though I am likely to think he might have a conservative bone or two in his body.  But anytime someone shows appreciation, and love, for this country and her flag, as he was, it is definitely a good thing.  Unfortunately, such patriotism is also becoming a rare thing.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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