We cats are not football fans, and one of the reasons is the suffocatingly militaristic faux-patriotism that organizations like the NFL shove down our throats. All sports are guilty of this, although hockey, we believe, is less so. At least hockey doesn't have cheerleaders, either.
So we're completely not surprised that Roger Goodell and his zillionaire bosses are turning coat and demanding now that their players stop taking knees during the national anthem. We'll be interested to see how the players react — especially since, at the same time, ESPN has decided to punish a black sportscaster for suggesting that the sponsors of the Dallas Cowboys and the team's right-right-right-wing owner Jerry Jones should be boycotted.
While this latest kerfuffle was ginned up by the sociopath in the White House, everyone seems to be forgetting that the reason Colin Kaepernik started kneeling during the Star-Spangled Banner was because he was disgusted and repelled by video after video of African-American men getting murdered by police. Yep, murdered. And then the killers getting off scot-free.
Well, we cats are sick of it, too. And sick of people like Roger Goodell and Jerry Jones, who have no idea what it's like to be black, stopped by a cop, and wonder if they'll get home alive.
And you know what? We're sick of the freaking national anthem, too. The only reason it's played before games today is because of a tradition that kicked off back in World War II — probably by event organizers hoping to sell more war bonds. It should have been left in the dust after that, but somehow we've ended up stuck with it. And our irritation is exacerbated by the facts that 1) it was originally a ridiculous British drinking song, 2) performers by and large sing it badly, and 3) Francis Scott Key was a terrible racist.
So, NFL players, keep taking those knees. And why not hum a few bars of "O Canada" to yourself at the same time? After all, it's a much better song. We cats HISS.
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