Announcer Says National Anthem Won’t Play And Spectators Retaliate

Oct 23, 2020

Patriotism is defined as having a great love for — or being heavily devoted to — one's country. Some of us show our patriotism for America on a daily basis, from singing the national anthem to letting our American flags fly in our front yards. That sort of American patriotism was on display in 2018 at a high school softball championship game in Fresno, California, which local resident Tiffany Marquez captured on video.

In May of 2018, the announcer informed spectators at the Clovis-Buchanan softball game that they would not be singing the national anthem — and the audience would not have it, as CBS News reports.

There was an obvious consensus among the crowd as they all stood from their seats and began to sing the national anthem. The children were already positioned out on the field; however, as soon as they heard their parents begin to sing, they all rushed from their positions into a straight line in front of the crowd.

The children placed their hands over their hearts and sung along to the melody of their parents. Although the children were from two separate teams, the unity between the teams as they sang the anthem was truly a sight to see. After the anthem was finished, the umpire gave the crowd a quick thumbs-up before continuing with the game.

The national anthem became officially recognized in the year of 1931, and the lyrics were written by poet Francis Scott Key. On September 13th, 1814, he witnessed American forces raising the nation's flag in Fort McHenry after a long battle.

As he watched the flag fly in the wind, he wrote the first verse on a paper that he had nearby. The initial verse was titled Defence of Fort M'Henry. However, as it grew popular, it eventually became what we now know as the national anthem.

The national anthem is a clear depiction of that fated day in history when American soldiers halted the British advance at Fort McHenry. In the lyrics, we can hear every aspect of that day, including the sound of the cannons, the embers in the air, and the glory of the American flag flying in the wind.

The national anthem is often taught to us during our early childhood days. Some of us might remember first hearing it in either first or second grade. The national anthem is played throughout our school days every morning without fail, and this may be how the children in the baseball game learned the lyrics.

The baseball game is just one show of patriotism that demonstrates the love we have for our country. How many countries can say that their citizens would do the same thing? America is truly lucky to have seen events such as this. Everyone stood together united on that baseball field singing America's praise under the light blue sky.

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