Sports and patriotism, a match made in America

Even sports has gotten into the budget cutting, when a House amendment was offered the other day that would prevent the Army from spending $7 million to sponsor NASCAR race car No. 39. But, even in a slash-and-burn atmosphere, the amendment was soundly beaten. There are a lot of congressmen prepared to do away with a lot of good old-fashioned, all-American stuff, but keep your hands off my NASCAR.

And let's face it: Seeing that whiz-bang Chevrolet No. 39 with U.S. Army splashed all over it, whippin' around the oval, chasin' Jimmie Johnson, may well indeed entice some young fans to enlist. I do know this: When I watch games on TV, I see an awful lot of commercials for the Army -- and for the other services. You go where the fish are biting, and sports is one logical place where the military can get its message out to the right cohort of possible young recruits.

Besides, of all sports, I suspect the Army is closest to the automotive. If you like cars, there are an awful lot of what the military people always call vee-HICK-ills to monkey around with in the Army.

It's also true that in the United States sports games are more associated with the military and mass displays of patriotism than any other amusements. I've always wondered why it is SOP -- Standard Operating Procedure -- for the national anthem to be performed at games, when no one would ever expect The Star-Spangled Banner to be played at the theater or the opera or a rock concert or at the start of the Academy Awards this Sunday.

Why is this strictly an athletic devotion?

And, now, at the start of major sporting events, it's also obligatory to have military jets flash overhead. The Olympics sends up doves; we send up fighter planes.

Moreover, some baseball teams now not only play the anthem but also use God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch. The Yankees even once physically tried to stop a patron from going to the men's room when Irving Berlin's song began. Really.

Of course, the problem is that when you make the anthem just another part of the scenery, it loses its meaning. When Pee Wee Herman had a show on Broadway a couple months ago, he began by pretending it was grade school, and having the theater rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Everybody went along, laughing, and I thought: that's pretty much the attitude toward our anthem at sports events now. Maybe it's not a joke, but it's just a rote imposition. It would be better if The Star-Spangled Banner were saved for special occasions -- championships.

And sure, if Chevrolet No. 39 works as a recruiting commercial, let the taxpayers ante up for it, but, hey, Congress, how about we cut the funding for fighter jets flying over stadiums?