Quote Originally Posted by MUBasketball View Post
Interesting. I never really gave it any thought but now I am questioning it -- why is the national anthem played before sporting events? Kind of strange when you think about it.
The Chicago Cubs started it in the 1918 World Series and it grew from there.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/sto...-sports-215646

Outside US sports, the only time anthems are typically played is for international competitions like Olympics or the World Cup. But here, sports and politics have often been closely linked. Jesse Owens, Tommie Smith, Muhammed Ali, the Olympic Boycott, the Miracle on Ice, the NFL delaying the season after 9-11, Pat Tillman, the military paying the NFL to have players on the field for the anthem starting in 2009 as a recruiting strategy, Kaepernick's knee, even yesterday's FBI investigation of NCAA basketball recruiting, it's very interesting just how indivisible sports and politics are in this country.