By John Cylc

September 6, 2024

On September 5^th, 2024, I ate buffalo wings and drank beer with my wife. We went out on a work night to watch the NFL Kickoff game. As they turned the music down and the volume up on the broadcast at Buffalo Wild Wings, I thought the performers were about to sing the National Anthem. I was sadly mistaken.

The singer started and I realized that we were still being forced to hear the supposed “Black National Anthem.” A thing that did not exist a few years ago, that is now being shoved down our collective throat to appease one specific race. That is un-American. We are the “United States” of America, not the “Collection of Skin Pigments” of America. The introduction of a racially specific anthem challenges the whole idea of a united nation.

Where does this path of appeasement stop? Will we start hearing the “Hispanic National Anthem”? Or the “Asian National Anthem”? Or God forbid, the “Caucasian National Anthem”? All these ridiculous songs should never happen because we are supposed to be UNITED. We must strive to celebrate diversity, but simultaneously celebrate our common identity as Americans. We should not, however, use the differences to divide us or single out one race above another, for good OR bad. Between modern politics, pop culture and the biased media, we have become “One Nation, Under God, Indivisible (except by race), with liberty and justice for some.

The NFL’s actions appear to have come out of the response to the Colin Kaepernick kneeling controversy. That act did divide the nation. The ratings in 2017 dropped in both 2016 and 2017 as people got tired of politics being inserted into their entertainment. In response to the backlash, the NFL made efforts to reduce political expressions during games and sought to restore its focus on football. This move was aimed at reconciling with fans who preferred to keep their sports entertainment separate from politics. Those efforts have contributed to a gradual rebound in viewership.

Football fans want to leave politics behind and watch passes, hits, runs, catches and scoring. The rivalry between teams and their fans is a fun distraction from the real division brought on us by an untruthful media and dishonest, bureaucratic government.

The NFL can continue its growth if it keeps this simple gameplan in mind-

Pre-game show.

Sing the National Anthem.

Flyover.

Kickoff.

Block.

Run.

Pass.

Catch.

Tackle.

Score.

Interview.

By sticking to the spirit of the game and respecting their diverse audience, the NFL can continue to grow and unite Americans. Continuing to be political would be nothing but a turnover.