‘Home of the Chiefs’? Stop disrespecting national anthem, Kansas City football fans | Opinion
I’m considering protesting Sunday’s Chiefs game in Denver by taking a knee during the singing of the national anthem. You should join me. Any God-fearing, America-loving, flag-waving patriot should.
This form of protest apparently is my only recourse to address a long-standing gripe I have with Kansas City fans’ decadeslong tradition of debasing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
If I could afford them, I’d cancel pricey season tickets to home games at Arrowhead Stadium, too.
Each week during football season, we witness legions of fans yell at the conclusion of the anthem: “… and the home of the Chiefs!” The team’s name is dragged out, of course. I cringe every time I hear that nonsense.
The national anthem belongs to America, not to Kansas City football fans.
Wouldn’t it be cool if star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end and current pitchman Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, Kelce’s reported new boo, come together to put an end to this tired act? Public service announcement, anyone?
Changing the ending of the national anthem is disrespectful. Taking a knee, as some former and current NFL players have done in the past, is not. Nor is performing a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” otherwise known as the Black national anthem.
In some corners of cyberspace, it was reported fans here booed local boys and girls choirs after they performed the song before the Chiefs’ season-opening home loss to Detroit Sept. 7. Those children deserved better. If spectators intentionally butcher the national anthem, they shouldn’t have a problem with the Chiefs or the NFL’s attempt to highlight diverse voices.
At times, the hypocrisy can be glaring. Remember, some fans vocally opposed a show of unity between the Chiefs and Houston Texans at Arrowhead in 2020. What grave injustice drew hisses from the crowd then? Of all things, a moment of silence to bring awareness to racial issues in our country.
To be truthful, I’m being flippant. I’ve never neglected to stand for the national anthem in public or otherwise. I have no problem with anyone who does. That’s their right. For me, as a former high school and college athlete, standing at attention with my hand over my heart while the anthem plays is second nature.
Sadly — and this is the power of pro sports and one of its wonky traditions — changing the end of the anthem has filtered down to live college and high school sporting events. Fans of other pro teams violate the spirit of the song, too. That must stop. It’s tacky and unpatriotic.
But in Kansas City, it’s especially bad. Here, fans take pride in adapting Francis Scott Key’s ode to the American flag and the freedom and liberty it represents. Even Swift has done it.
Twice in four games Swift has attended this season, the pop megastar was shown on video apparently singing the irresponsible tweaked lyric, as The Star’s Pete Grathoff reports.
Because of this, some Chiefs fans on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, believe Swift is “one of us,” Grathoff wrote.
“She did it!” X user Ms_LilShadow posted. She’s “officially one of us.” Please, no.
Another X user, Moto Gal, wrote: “Now she needs to do this, standing on center field with a mic in her hand, at the Arrowhead Invitational. Don’t you agree, @Chiefs ??”
I don’t agree.
A better suggestion: Swift would be better served watching Whitney Houston’s iconic rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” instead. Houston’s eloquent pregame performance from 1991’s Super Bowl is legendary. And she didn’t change the song’s ending. When Whitney belted, “And the home of the braaaave,” who among us didn’t feel a sense of pride to be American?
To its credit, the Chiefs organization has made progress eliminating some of the issues at Arrowhead that we’ve seen in years past. Fans aren’t allowed in with paint on their faces of any other imagery depicting Native American culture, among other pertinent changes. Despite good intentions, the ill-advised banging of the ceremonial war drum and that cringeworthy “Arrowhead chop” persist as game-day traditions in Kansas City. Ugh.
I’ve never liked Kansas City Chiefs fans’ rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Ever. For decades, Chiefs fans have selfishly ruined the national anthem. I wish they would stop.
This story was originally published October 29, 2023 at 5:09 AM.
