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News & ArtsSaturday, April 14, 2012
Political Suicide / Sports / Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz / War Baseball and Coercive Patriotism
Posted by Chicago Fan on Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 8:38 PM
Today in Baseball History, we get the beginning of one of the most pernicious aspects of Baseball in America:
1910 At American League Park II in Washington, D.C., William Taft becomes the first president to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Senator legend Walter Johnson one-hits the A's, 3-0 in the season opener.
Nothing sucks like forced patriotism. Especially since 9/11, the whole bullshit has gotten worse: adding "God Bless America" to the pre-game songs every Sunday (every day at Yankee Stadium, if I recall correctly), children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, fly-overs by jet fighters, fuck. I half-joke that teams no longer offer a rain check on the back of the tickets: instead, it's a loyalty oath. And to think, before the Great War, it was unheard of for the National Anthem to be associated with sports: was considered undignified.
But at least some other interesting things happened once upon a time today. The team Bud Selig thought he would get before he hijacked the Pilots played their first home game on this date:
1969 In the first regular season game played outside the United States, the Expos play their first home game, treating 29,184 fans at Jarry Park to an 8-7 win over St. Louis. Montreal moundsman Larry Jaster throws baseball's first international pitch to Cardinal left fielder Lou Brock.
When the expansion envelopes were being dramatically opened, Selig saw the "M" of "Montreal" and thought for sure it meant "Milwaukee." Nope, had to wait to steal Seattle's Pilots. And a team should've gone to Milwaukee in the first place, since Montreal was never really a baseball town, and eventually they lost the franchise to Washington DC.
And one of the villain/heroes of the Black Sox Scandal, Eddie Cicotte, on this date:
1917 White Sox hurler Eddie Cicotte no-hits the Browns, 11-0. The Michigan native will finish the season with twenty-eight wins.
Legend has it that he got only 28 victories in 1917 because cheapskate ChiSox owner Charles Comiskey had him benched to avoid paying a promised bonus for a 30-win season.
1
"God Bless America" is not a pre-game song on Sundays. It is played before the bottom of the 7th, AKA last call for beer, which provides a great excuse to never have to listen to that jingoistic garbage.
3
Sick of forced patriotism in baseball? How about a little draft dodging to perk us up? On this date in 1917 died Harry Trent, the founder of the Bethlehem Steel baseball league, in which different steel plants would field teams to play against each other. A year later when the War Department started drafting major leaguers for WWI, many of them sought refuge from the draft board by taking "war-essential" jobs with Bethlehem, letting the steel giant field teams with players like Babe Ruth, Dutch Leonard, Joe Jackson, Lefty Williams, and a host of lesser lights such as my grandpa.
http://bethlehemsteelsoccer.org/gl041417…
http://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/ea4ecf4c
http://bethlehemsteelsoccer.org/gl041417…
http://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/ea4ecf4c
4
@3 Man, imagine that happening today, super-famous, super-rich MLB players taking jobs at factories, transportation, etc. and playing ball at small neighborhood ballparks, just for a couple years. To be able to see these players in action upclose in small settings, like at Cal Anderson Park, and for players to be able to do this without fear of being mobbed by fans. Different times.
(However, if a TV network, like ESPN, was up to staging a "backyard match" at a community park, with a reality-TV spin, and somehow was able to execute it safely, I'm sure there'd be some ratings in that.)
So cool that you had an old school baseball playing grandpa.
(However, if a TV network, like ESPN, was up to staging a "backyard match" at a community park, with a reality-TV spin, and somehow was able to execute it safely, I'm sure there'd be some ratings in that.)
So cool that you had an old school baseball playing grandpa.
5
Woh there! Montreal was a baseball town. What Montreal wasn't is a modern baseball town. With it's ridiculous MLB paychecks and exorbitant ticket prices. Unlike the Canadien's Forum which was downtown on the West side, the Expo's Olympic Stadium was in the francophone working class neighborhood of Hochelaga in the East. That meany most ticket buyers could hardly afford more than bleeders.
Since the Expo's left town, their mascot has been picked up by the Canadien, which had none.
Since the Expo's left town, their mascot has been picked up by the Canadien, which had none.
7
Baseball is a "team" sport that has the least amount of team play.
It's really nine individuals each doing their job as best they can.
Maybe that makes it more American than all the hoopla.
8
@ 5, Montreal is known for a level of fanaticism for the Canadiens matched in the US perhaps only by New York's for the Yankees. Calling Montreal any kind of baseball town is a huge stretch.
9
Nothing sucks like forced patriotism. So refreshing to see more than one American write and agree with this. I don't know why the God Bless America/patriotic stuff is enforced: it doesn't add value to the baseball game.
14
@1 At Wrigley, they do it before the National Anthem on Sundays. Don't know about other ballparks, which is why I asked. Once almost got into fisticuffs with some moron who thought I had to take my hat off for GBA. I explained the difference between the National Anthem and GBA and told him to learn a bit before trying to tell other folks what the fuck to do.
15
What the hell is wrong with you poeple?
God Bless America is about the least jingoistic song going. As are most of our songs reverencing this great nation. Our national anthem is about a guy looking up at our flag after a night of battle, tired and shell shocked but still standing. What does he say? "America is the best!" Nope. 'USA, USA?' Nope. He says 'so long as there is an America we'll hold our ground and still be there at battles end.' After WW1 how much European territory did we demand? Not one damn acre. WW2? Yep, you guessed it, not one acre or dollar did we demand as a price for saving the world from war. Twice. Korea? Largely at our expense Europe stayed free of Marxist/Stalinist bullshit. So we asked at least for Austria as a payment, right? No, we didn't.
Here's an idea. If you hate America so much that a quiet song asking for Gods blessing on our wonderful country at a baseball game offends you, get the hell out. Now. Still here? Go to Canada and practice their famous passive agression, or Europe and whine like the effeminate babies you are, or any damn place but here you worthless human debris.
As for Seatackled, if you hate this place so much that a returning soldier embracing his son on a ballfield pisses you off, your own private hell is probably enough punishment for you. I want you to stay, just to see all the honorable decent people standing up for the greatest country on Gods green earth.
'Liberals, hating America since the 1920's.' TM.
God Bless America is about the least jingoistic song going. As are most of our songs reverencing this great nation. Our national anthem is about a guy looking up at our flag after a night of battle, tired and shell shocked but still standing. What does he say? "America is the best!" Nope. 'USA, USA?' Nope. He says 'so long as there is an America we'll hold our ground and still be there at battles end.' After WW1 how much European territory did we demand? Not one damn acre. WW2? Yep, you guessed it, not one acre or dollar did we demand as a price for saving the world from war. Twice. Korea? Largely at our expense Europe stayed free of Marxist/Stalinist bullshit. So we asked at least for Austria as a payment, right? No, we didn't.
Here's an idea. If you hate America so much that a quiet song asking for Gods blessing on our wonderful country at a baseball game offends you, get the hell out. Now. Still here? Go to Canada and practice their famous passive agression, or Europe and whine like the effeminate babies you are, or any damn place but here you worthless human debris.
As for Seatackled, if you hate this place so much that a returning soldier embracing his son on a ballfield pisses you off, your own private hell is probably enough punishment for you. I want you to stay, just to see all the honorable decent people standing up for the greatest country on Gods green earth.
'Liberals, hating America since the 1920's.' TM.
16
@ 15, the song just sucks. Ask my religious and patriotic mother. She'll tell you.
@ 10, sorry, but your city's reputation is set. If Montreal was a baseball town, they'd still have a baseball team. The handful of diehards you pal around with don't make it so.
@ 10, sorry, but your city's reputation is set. If Montreal was a baseball town, they'd still have a baseball team. The handful of diehards you pal around with don't make it so.
17
Oh, @ 15, this is why your make-nice posts (like you did last weekend) don't mean anything with us. This post here today is the real you - all hate and smelly asshole you. Playing nice doesn't fool anyone here.
19
@15 God Bless America is a piece of shit Pie in the Sky When You Die song, which tried to distract people from the Depression and the depredations of unrestrained capitalism. (Kind of like now!). Now, if we were to sing "This Land is Your Land" before the game, I'd be up for it. And please note that my beef is not with patriotism, it's with COMPULSORY patriotism being shoved down people's throats. But such nuance is usually lost on the Love it or Leave it crowd you clearly come from.
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