The Land Of The Free, And The Home Of The... Gay?

By Baxter

So, was it a "gay" national anthem? Some people think so. Or that to have Lady Gaga perform The Star-Spangled Banner at last night's Super Bowl was a statement in and of itself.

To which we cats would say, "By whom?" Certainly not by the uber-conservative NFL, which — goodness gracious, don't get us started. Suffice to say that we were about to go on a rant about guys beating up women in elevators. But other things we remember include Commissioner Pete Rozelle's insistence that Detroit and Minnesota play on the Sunday after President Kennedy's assassination. Ugh. This is why, when the rest of the country goes mad over football, even we cats tune to the Puppy Bowl instead.

Since we missed Gaga's performance live, we checked it out on YouTube (and now, of course, we share it). Here's what we thought: That Lady Gaga has the voice, and the presence, and — clearly — the proper respect for the national anthem (no, it's not a "song") to thrill everyone who heard her. But at the same time, she was saying, "Isn't all this Super Bowl stuff over the top?"

At least, that's what we heard and saw. "Ain't I a stinker?" (Bugs Bunny's immortal line) came to mind. But whatever each of us took away from the performance, we cats join Tony Bennett and Julie Andrews in adoring Lady Gaga, and we PURR.