If you want a hot topic to debate, why not talk about the flag controversy that has been brewing since last year? Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the playing of the national anthem to protest social inequality in the U.S. and it has created a firestorm.
It seems that because Kaepernick was an NFL player that an instant social justice platform was launched. I suspect if average Joe or Josephine would have made the attempt, it probably would have taken longer.
I have been attending athletic events for years and have observed that not everyone stands when our national anthem is played. I, nor any of the people around me made any comments to the person who didn’t stand. I wonder why?
Was it because it was none of our business? Could it have been because we didn’t want to get into a protracted conversation about why they didn’t stand? Or lastly, could it have been that we wanted the game to begin and enjoy ourselves?
Certainly, before Kaepernick’s gesture, you didn’t see cameras scanning the crowd to see who was standing and who was sitting. People go to games to get an emotional release from the everyday issues of life.
When we pay as fans roughly two hundred dollars for tickets, parking, refreshments and a T-shirt, do we really want to engage the fan next to us about his or her political views? Probably not.
Does that mean we don’t care? No. However, it does mean in my opinion that the venue is the wrong one to have that type of discussion.
