Watching and listening — on TV, of course — as “God Bless America” was sung during the seventh-inning stretch of Game 5 of the World Series, I was reminded of a national anthem etiquette question that came up for me Saturday at the OSU football game.
When the Star Spangled Banner got cranked up before the game, I was in the back section of the press box, midway through my free lunch of hamburger, hot dog, chips and chili — yes, as a matter of fact, I did have a helping (or two) of everything.
The back section is basically a dining room of sorts, neither physically separated from the front section — where the actual work gets done — nor all that close to the windows that overlook the field; it’s maybe 30-40 feet from the back wall to the glass.
When I realized the anthem was being played — I could just barely hear it from the table I was sharing with former GT sportswriter and onetime OSU sports information guy Kip Carlson — I initially decided it wasn’t required of me to stand at attention, given it wasn’t really being played in my presence.
But then I had a moment of uncertainty, and I didn’t want to seem disrespectful in any way, so I stood up, as did Kip. I’m still not sure it was totally necessary — I mean, you don’t stand for the anthem and face the flag when you’re watching a game on TV, or if you’re working at a concession stand, for example — but I guess I figured, when in doubt, err on the side of showing respect.
What do you think?
On a related topic, I had a female colleague who used to argue that hat-wearing women at a sporting event shouldn’t be required to remove their headwear during the anthem. What do you think about that? Or about either gender being asked to remove their hats, for that matter?
