It's Time To Retire "God Bless America" From MLB Games' 7th-Inning Stretch

[stopbush]

I'm really tired of this sappy, quasi-religious crapper being inserted into baseball games.

It all started after 9/11. You'd think that 10 years later, we could get rid of the maudlin crap and go back to "Take Me Out To the Ball Game."

Every MLB game already starts off with the singing of the National Anthem or "America The Beautiful." That ought to fulfill the patriotic quotient for the game. The 7th-inning stretch used to be the place to sing a tune that is unique to baseball, and that celebrates what the game is about.

"God Bless America?" Not so much. A crappy song that injects religion into the national pastime while making bogus and unsavory claims about American exceptionalism.

Time for it to go.

[MADem]

1. I agree. I always liked that song as a kid, the Kate Smith version, particularly,

but the whole "Nahn Wun Wun changed ever-thang" attitude, and the incessant playing of that song for purely political purposes, made a song I once enjoyed a "fingers on the blackboard" exercise.

It's not just ballgames, either (though I do think TMOTTBG is ALL that is needed for Seventh Inning Stretch). If I ruled the world, the GBA song would be put in mothballs for at least ten years, and when taken out, it would be served sparingly, like expensive caviar.

[tomp]

2. Good luck with that. nt

[Gman]

3. It's been PLENTY long enough

It's probably already at the point where there are kids now that have no memory of Take Me Out To The Ballgame.

I don't even want to think about Harry Carrey drunkenly singing God Bless America.

[LibAsHell]

4. It's time to retire it completely

From everything

[Patiod]

5. Not Flyers games though

That's a whole different ball of wax.

[JoePhilly]

9. +1

[jimlup]

6. I agree but it will never happen...

Things like this - once they get started don't go away. Whom ever sets the schedule will fear being "unpatriotic".

Yeah it is more than a little sicky sweet.

[cbdo2007]

7. Wait, what??? I know I only go to a couple of games a year but I only remember

them doing Take Me Out To The Ballgame.

Is this just for certain teams??

[mopinko]

8. white sox only do it on sundays.

but every game they have "the hero of the game", some service member that they bring out for some applause. just one time i want to see a woman with 10 kids, or a dog that pulled his family from a burning building. fire fighters or cops, even.
lots of heroes here in the big city. they deserve a round of applause, too.

also wish they would retire the 100 yard flags on opening day. i can only look at it and think of howard zinn- there is no flag big enough to cover the shame of an illegal war.

[matmar]

12. awesome Howard Zinn quote

[NYC Liberal]

10. I don't care either way. The 7th inning is when I go to the bathroom, stretch my legs, etc.

So whether they play "God Bless America" or "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", I'm not standing around listening anyway.

[matmar]

11. I can't stand it. I head for the concessions or the crapper....

If they sang Woody Guthries "This Land is Your Land" then I'd stick around. I hate the jingoistic BS

[hifiguy]

13. It was time to retire it at the beginning of the 2002 season.

I don't like the soggy religiosity and mindless "patriotism" of the song at all but was willing to tolerate it for the last month of the 2001 season.

Baseball's national anthem is "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and that is quite sufficient for the seventh-inning stretch.