The US Women’s National Soccer Team is about to face England in the Semifinals of the World Cup. I was reminded of the time the Men faced England a few years back. Before the match, both National Anthems are played. The entire crowd at the bar where I watched sang along. It was the first time that I realized just what the song means- Hey, England! Is that All you’ve got?
Okay, I’m only referring to the first verse. I haven’t read the others since I was a cub scout. I wasn’t in the scouts that long. As you probably know, the lyrics of our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, were written by Francis Scott Key after the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. The melody is an English drinking song which explains a lot.
Key was aboard one of the English ships in Baltimore Harbor and watched them basically throw the kitchen sink at us. Think about the lyrics- “The rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there.” How much clearer can it be? What was at the time the World’s most powerful navy threw everything they had at us in Baltimore, and when they were through, as Jake LaMotta might say, “Ya still haven’t knocked me down!”
The song is a verbal shrug, a, “Yeah, and. . .?” Kirk telling Khan, “I laugh at your Superior Intellect.” It’s Robert Conrad putting the battery on his shoulder and daring England to knock it off because they’re done. Robin Williams joked that the most effective form of contraception was a woman laughing- the implication being a man’s pecker is small (i.e, “Is that it?). We call out England for having a small pecker.
When we sing the National Anthem, we sing it with pride, it’s our song. In a few minutes, though, we are going to sing it right in the faces of the people we called out. It’s got to be the world’s most epic taunt. Granted, none of the athletes on the field are going to care about size, even if they gave the lyrics a second’s worth of thought.
I anticipate a great match played by athletes at the highest level. For the record, I hope the USA wins it all. Yes, we Liberals are just as patriotic as conservatives, Fuck you very much Faux News. I want Mayor DeBlasio to throw them a parade up the Canyon of Heroes. They can stand on the steps of City Hall and tell the *resident “We’re Number 1” in a manner suggested by Rapinoe’s comments.
Bonus historical fun fact: John Adams wrote his wife predicting future celebrations of our nation’s independence with parades and fireworks- he was talking about July 2nd.