Today's Tidbit... Flag Day, Football, and The Star-Spangled Banner

Jun 14, 2022

Most Tidbits involve some aspect of the nuts and bolts of football throughout its history, but it’s also worth looking at how football has been shaped by the social context of the 1890s, the 1920s, and other periods.

One tradition in American sports is the playing of The Star-Spangled Banner before contests. In honor of Flag Day, here's my 2018 story of how the anthem entered our games and the first times it was played before gridiron contests.

Football Archaeology

The NFL, WWI, and The Star-Spangled Banner

National anthems are inherently expressions of solidarity among a group of people joined in a political entity, a nation. Anthems are expressions of us and exclusions of them. They unite us because they divide us from outsiders and take on their deepest meaning during times we are threatened by them…

7 years ago · Timothy P. Brown

Subscribe for free and never miss a story. You can also support this site with a paid subscription that provides additional content or check out my books here.