You’re not buying anything, you live in Michigan.

Line of the post.

Very nicely said Sam, now about the damn children…LOL

And I hate the “I’m a son of a military guy, so this affects me more” argument.

Well, I was in the military for 10 years. I don’t mind this tradition one freaking bit. In fact, I love seeing fans actually cheering and enjoying themselves during the anthem, rather than just standing there aimlessly just humming along.

to say there’s a poll over here for most annoying fans in the NHL, is it?

Didn’t think so. I’m glad I didn’t link it.

I hate the Blackhawks, and I love this tradition. One of the coolest in sports. One solace (for me, obviously) of the Hawks being good again was this tradition coming back alive in its full-throated glory.

So many things wrong with his faux-patriotic argument, which Sam obliterated. But I wonder if he ever considered, even for a moment, that a massive, 19,000-strong roaring celebration better honors his patriotic jollies than the alternative, which is often a bunch of people and 40 players uncomfortably waiting for the song to be over so they can get on with business?

What a complete Cunt-Rag! (to use a term from the Indian)!! I would like to shove an octopus up his ass during the anthem and see how much he screams!! What a stroke!

I grew up in a military family. My father was a Commander in the United States Coast Guard and he taught me a deep love of our country, and respect for our flag. That includes standing during the National Anthem with my right hand over my heart and singing the words.

This is the part i hated the most. I have the utmost respect for our soldiers, both current and veteran. I admire and support them no matter what. But I don’t know how being the descendant of one gives you the right to criticize others. And really, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who’s parent or grandparent didn’t serve in WWII, or one of the subsequent wars. The sheer arrogance of that statement just pisses me off.

Adam Burish could play.

those are called goosebumps you twit…and youre getting them because the anthem is fucking awesome

 are you kidding me this is outrageous. how many people do you hear that say they REFUSE to miss the anthem b.c. its sooo powerful and gives people chills. how many players say the same both on the hawks and on other teams. even the “great one” said he wasn’t sure if the 1991 ASG should be played but then heard the anthem and said he has never saw a place more patriotic in his life.

played a tape of the Stadium’s anthem to fire up his troops…for fuck’s SAKE! Yet another bullet to the head of the “I grew up in a military family” argument.

I’m sure we all realize this is just some Detoilet tool begging for attention to his good-for-nothing daily rambling blog. He knows we’re prideful of our tradition and that he can rip it apart without being racist, sexist, or anti-American (thus really avoiding bad, perhaps violent, attention) Nevertheless, he can go straight to hell.

I’m from a military family and don’t have a patriotic bone in my body. Never really understood that line of thinking from people.

I guess I can see why someone looking from the outside in would misconstrue this as insulting the National Anthem, oblivious to the fact that we’re cheering the Anthem itself (kinda in the same vein as Chief Illiniwek, but that’s another topic). Personally, I think it’s an amazing tradition, something I’m honored to be a part of at every game. I only think it’s insulting when fans start cheering “Let’s Go Hawks” and such during the Anthem. There’s 60+ minutes of game for that, give the Star-Spangled Banner it’s one minute of due.

to take the microscope off of the growing goaltending debacle.

I grew up in a military family. My father was a Commander in the United States Coast Guard and he taught me a deep love of our country, and respect for our flag. That includes standing during the National Anthem with my right hand over my heart and singing the words.

This is the line that gets me. It’s not that I don’t respect greatly every man and woman who has served this country. But being the descendant of one doesn’t mean you are more patriotic than I am or appreciate being American more than I do (For the record, my father served in the Army, and two separate Generals called him the worst soldier in the history of the US Armed Forces. So I guess I’m Russian, right?) In fact, if your parents are off the boat immigrants who made a better life for themselves here, you could claim to appreciate America more than I do.

This shit pissed me off too. I’m in the military, and I recognize that this Otto character is an ass clown of the worst degree.

But the anthem’s cool.

I will always follow the Flag Code, stand at attention, salute, hat removed over heart, whatever protocol calls for, and stay like that from first note to the last.

This is not obligatory, nor should it ever be for an American. The most important thing is respect. I have been to the UC many times and have never felt the ’Ole Barn and now UC tradition comes even close to disrespectfull. Each to his own to act like they wish (it kinda is an American thing to do so). Quiet the contrary to what (FUCK)SCUM-bag thinks, I have always enjoyed the energy from the Anthem, and the bigger the stage the more energy their is. I have the 1991 All-Star Game Anthem saved, and just listened to it again. Now if that does not just scream American Pride to anyone who listenens to it, well no one is going to stop you from leaving (like they did and do in those Countries where freedom is a dream, and not a given).

I love the UC tradition, hearing people scream for the Anthem is awsome and I will take anyday, it is much better the alternative of hearing some Douche-Nozzle screaming against it, now that would be REAL disrespect.

I would like to see how they could try to make the 20,000 plus fans stop this tradition. Good luck with that. I first heard it at the Stadium and I still get chills just thinking about it. Every “new” fan that I have brought to a game with me has thought it was the best anthem they had ever heard. It definitely is not disrespectful and I have never personally heard any military friends say that they wish it would stop.

Sam, you’ve posted one for time and eternity on this one. Nice work.

And a 334 Salute to the vets who have posted their support!

This guy has a legitimate point. I remember when President HW Bush almost fired General Schwarzkoph for showing Messmer’s performance to some of his troops.

Somebody didn’t teach the General to give the anthem its proper respect.

I’ve been to four games at the UC. Each time during the anthem I feel almost the urge to let out laughter … I mean, I’ve been so positively overwhelmed and forced to smile so widely that a giggle almost just naturally happens. I feel so fucking good. I’m a Canadian, a fiercely proud Canadian, but in those moments I honestly almost wished I had a US passport, too, to share my allegiance.

will apparently be on wgn tomorrow morn at 6:30…tune in – i hope there is an on air raping

They’re trolling over here telling us we not sophisticated. It’s ironic.
Have to make a point about “The Star Spangled Banner”. It’s my favorite, not the whole song just the first verse. It’s the perfect song for the humble superpower we aspire to be today. It reminds us that there was a time where our very existence was in doubt. A time where after a night of being attacked on our soil by a foreign aggressor, we waited to find out if we were still a free nation. Did the fort hold? Did we have to surrender? Is our flag still flying? When he belt out “Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave” I get chills every time.

He has never been to a Hawks game! I think it was Harry said “You’d think as a journalist you’d want to experience something before commenting.”

They invited him to the UC April 11 to experience it firsthand.

obviously.

I can almost guarantee he doesn’t give a shit about the anthem at all. At a time when the Blackhawks are the hottest team in the NHL and actually garnering some mainstream sports media attention, this guy is the kind of whore to exploit it for his own interests. He is getting put on the radio and WGN? That’s his whole goal, get more exposure. If he’s lucky then it will snowball, ESPN, NBC during intermission on Sunday, etc.

EVERYBODY LOOK AT ME!

FUCK YEAH!

My dad served in the army – in ‘71 my parents had to move to Virginia where he was stationed. Being season ticket holders they missed the Cup Finals that year – I still don’t think he’s decided whether that was a curse or a blessing.

In any case, I can’t think of anything more disrespectful to your fellow Americans than having to sit next to a Scum fan who has a stinky ass Octopus hidden in their shirt for three periods of hockey. Yeech!

 there have a lot of people talking about the 1991 All Star Game. I remember watching the game. As I mentioned before, half of Chicago has sent me the link, so I watched the Anthem again today.

You know what’s happening in that video? A huge group of people not realizing they are disrespecting the Star Spangled Banner.

he’s gotten exactly what he wanted with this column: his 5 minutes of regional, if not national, fame. People are talking about his article, writing about his comments, putting him on the radio to run his idiot mouth, driving up his page hits, everything he hoped would happen by writing that shit.

I vote we stop giving him the satisfaction of talking about the article. Everyone worth caring about knows the intentions behind the cheering.

a “misdirected show of patriotism?” I mean, what does that even mean? Short of removing someone’s rights for “patriotic” reasons (e.g. if someone were to beat a Muslim following a terrorist act), how can a heartfelt display of patriotism be “misdirected” or disrespectful?

Apparently even Scum fans are standing up to Otto, telling him he’s full of shit…this guy is a douchetard, no wonder people try to leave michigan

It seems obvious to me that, if anything, the tradition taps into a vein of hyper-nationalism. I’m not saying it’s quite fascistic, but it draws from the same well.

Suggesting the tradition is disrepectful or unpatriotic is an utter misinterpretation and could not be more wrong.

Well, my dad drives a Hostess truck, so twinkies taste better to me than they do to you.

I thought this discussion was thoroughly thrashed out at 100 comments. Yet here I am, coming back to read more. And Rob Otto, that fucko, still doesn’t have a last name.

Wouldthis fucking cum dumpster just shut the Fuck UP! He has no Fucking Clue of what he is talking about or about what FREEDOM really is. In this shit head’s eyes you free to do what you want provided, HE likes what you intend to do. This Whores value of Freedom is shallower than his researching a product, admittingly never had gone the UC but will spew this shit.

Why does this Ass Clown feel it nessecary to make an issue out of Pride and Tradition? His sense of Freedom is more pure than yours. He cites the US Code, but forgets the US Constitution is supreme to that.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”

Trust me, if I even felt for a second what happens at the UC was TRUELY disrespectful to the Flag or the United State I would be all over it. That Honor and Pride is sacred in my eyes, and is worth defending, but is not under attack here.

Anyways got to go to work, doing that whole defending the Country thing, thanks for letting me rant.

BTW
FUCK ROB “Cock Holster” OTTO and FUCK SCUM