Are America's sporting events used to bless war/military service, and perpetuate our endless wars?

I've always been a little uncomfortable with the ubiquitous 'Honoring' of veterans at sports events. And being a big baseball & hockey fan, I've seen it many times. I always felt it was in poor taste and cheapened the sacrifices soldiers make, but I wasn't sure exactly why, just that it rubbed me wrong. This article puts a very fine point on those feelings.

Link to source article at alternet dot org:
www.alternet.org...

I believe equating military service and war with sports can be a dangerous and deceitful thing. Here's a powerful excerpted paragraph from the article-

"War is not a sport. It is about killing. It is dirty, messy and deeply demoralizing. It brings with it trauma, lifelong wounds, loss and feelings of shame and guilt. It leaves bleeding or dead bodies on its fields. The pay is lousy. The working conditions are horrific. And those who come back from war are usually discarded. The veterans who died waiting for medical care from Veterans Affairs hospitals could, if they were alive, explain the difference between being a multimillion-dollar-a-year baseball star and a lance corporal home from Iraq or Afghanistan. At best, you are trotted out for a public event, as long as you read from the script they give you, the one designed to entice the naive into the military. Otherwise, you are forgotten."

I've attempted to carefully bring this up for discussion only a couple times with family and friends, and the results haven't been good... once, the situation came VERY close to a physical fight. And I'll admit that not being a veteran myself, I feel a little out of place voicing an opinion, like maybe I haven't earned that right. After all, if the vets are fine with this practice at large sporting events, who am I to tell them it's not right, or that it might be done for the wrong reasons? But the article is very well written, and at the very least, is sure to make people question a few things. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Thoughts?


PS- Wasn't sure exactly which was the proper forum for this. If any mod feels it's better suited to a different place, please feel free to move it.

a reply to: M4nWithNoN4me

Let's get rid of Memorial Day and Vererans Day while we are at it....

a reply to: M4nWithNoN4me

I think the Illuminati has successfully brainwashed society into believing that its ok to murder people and sacrifice loved ones in the name of nation and God. WE must start preaching otherwise or humanity will be lost.

Maybe, in a roundabout way. What it basically is, is what basically everything in this society is. Collectivist conditioning. No matter where you go or what you do, you're steered in the direction of having no individual identity outside of whatever group you identify with.

You watch sports on TV and you can see this. None of these sports are about individuals. It's ALL about the team. You will likely never see one guy decide he doesn't want to play that day and sit down in the middle of the field and have lunch. There would be a laser focused peer pressed from every direction to either make him play or get rid of him.

You see the fans. They're not individuals. They're all wearing the team logo (or the other team logo). Nobody has a name. Nobody cares about their names. All anybody cares about is that they make that droning indistinct crowd noise and do what they're supposed to do. Just like cattle.

Everything is about groupthink. All the time.

To me, it has been obvious that American sporting events are saturated with militaristic propagandizing.

The recent disclosure that the Department of Defense pays major leagues to display patriotism came to me as little surprise.
I believe the OP article is remiss to not mention this fact.

www.washingtonpost.com...

Cheesy, shallow, and deceptive are adjectives that come to mind when I consider the staged patriotism that is ubiquitous to American major sporting events.

a reply to: ExNihiloRed

Kinda an overreaction of what is being said.
Cool avi btw.

OP I think you are making it a bit more of an issue than it really is.
Alternet isn't really that great of a source either, they are a bit biased.

This is a great conspiracy theory and it's a shame ATS is not what it used to be...evolution I guess or idiot propaganda worked on the masses.

You know what it probably is? Both industries, sports and military make a lot of money. There is definitely a paper trail because to book that type of event at a game has a paper trail and costs money. I highly doubt it's 100% patriotic, there has to be some greed involved, nothing is for free.

Maybe you can research back and see if the military invested early on in any sport franchises.

It's the whole support our troops and veterans and as you described in your OP we don't support them very good apparently. S&F

Edit to add: Which is why the military uses so much advertising and marketing that makes it seem like becoming a soldier is a great idea when it's probably the worst.


Edit 2: For a long time now there have always been various branches of the military advertising in sports magazines including skateboard magazines.

Major sports events are a form of worship in America.

Probably some marketing study made decades ago shown that having military parafernalia in the sports event was good for business and that way it started, after more time the people in charge don't even remember why they do it but everything have to be bigger every year and soon there will be tanks flaking the players at the Super Bowl



Probably americans just like to be patriotic while they see their best ads...

originally posted by: ecapsretuo
The recent disclosure that the Department of Defense pays major leagues to display patriotism came to me as little surprise.

Wow, I wasn't aware of that! Pretty scary. Thanks for sharing

originally posted by: ExNihiloRed
a reply to: M4nWithNoN4me

Let's get rid of Memorial Day and Vererans Day while we are at it....

Hopefully this is sarcasm. Memorial day and veterans day are they only two for us vets. Although memorial day, originally was for remembering the fallen soldiers who were killed in battle, it has now been overtaken by civilians remembering everyone who has passed.
In my opinion, this article is way out in left field. Comparing military service to sports is just dumb. I don't get the link I guess. Understandably the government wants to keep the military funded very well. As for those of us who come home, the government and most people wish we would just disappear. We are warriors that have been trained in the art of war. So to make us feel a little better, they parade us at sporting events, parades, etc... but they still hate ys, hate us because of who and what we are. We are what they asked for, demanded the use of, now we're just supposed to go away. The military is nothing like sports, neither is war. War is hell. And it has its affects on everyone involved. Sports doesn't have that effect. I haven't watched sports in over 20 years. Too much life to live. Who wants to sit for hours watching this? Not me. I know I'm kinda rambling now. Too many thoughts and not enough time or space.

originally posted by: troyof69

originally posted by: ExNihiloRed
a reply to: M4nWithNoN4me

Let's get rid of Memorial Day and Vererans Day while we are at it....

Hopefully this is sarcasm. Memorial day and veterans day are they only two for us vets. Although memorial day, originally was for remembering the fallen soldiers who were killed in battle, it has now been overtaken by civilians remembering everyone who has passed.
In my opinion, this article is way out in left field. Comparing military service to sports is just dumb. I don't get the link I guess. Understandably the government wants to keep the military funded very well. As for those of us who come home, the government and most people wish we would just disappear. We are warriors that have been trained in the art of war. So to make us feel a little better, they parade us at sporting events, parades, etc... but they still hate ys, hate us because of who and what we are. We are what they asked for, demanded the use of, now we're just supposed to go away. The military is nothing like sports, neither is war. War is hell. And it has its affects on everyone involved. Sports doesn't have that effect. I haven't watched sports in over 20 years. Too much life to live. Who wants to sit for hours watching this? Not me. I know I'm kinda rambling now. Too many thoughts and not enough time or space.

It was UTTER sarcasm to emphasize how ridiculous I found the position being advocated in the OP.

a reply to: M4nWithNoN4me

A conspiracy? A well-funded program of propaganda to recruit naive young men and women?? No, I don't believe either. I do agree with a couple points, namely equating sports to war; moreover, what I constantly hear is a "warrior mentality" being espoused in interview after interview by people associated with the NFL. What I hope for both is that they continue to collaborate on TBI and CTE. War is not a sport. It would be nice though if some of war's causalities can be aided by the ongoing science of concussions in the NFL. The glass is always half-full in my eyes.

I am no fan of professional sports for a few reasons, but that's not the point of this thread.

I have always viewed professional sports, and the fans of their respective teams, to be safer form of tribal warfare that allows people who enjoy that sort of thing a way to release it. So the connection to war isn't far fetched for me to see.

"We won!" says the rabid sports fan.
"No, you did nothing to help achieve that victory, you did not win anything," is my response.

originally posted by: BeefNoMeat
A conspiracy? A well-funded program of propaganda to recruit naive young men and women??

Didn't use the word conspiracy. I believe it's likely that these large gatherings of humans are targeted by wealthy opportunists. Opportunists who've a vested interest in reenforcing the sports hero/war hero association, and keeping enlistment rates high. Not implying that coaches, players, etc are complicit in a conspiracy.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
Alternet isn't really that great of a source either, they are a bit biased.

I know that friend. I just said that the article put into words a feeling I've had for a long time, not that you must read the source article as factual because Alternet is a website beyond reproach.

Team sports and the military have a lot in common. Both are groups of people pushing their limits in their role as part of a team, working for something bigger than themselves. Young fighting age men are the main participants in professional sports. Juxtaposing sports and military service helps with recruiting.

originally posted by: M4nWithNoN4me
I've always been a little uncomfortable with the ubiquitous 'Honoring' of veterans at sports events. And being a big baseball & hockey fan, I've seen it many times. I always felt it was in poor taste and cheapened the sacrifices soldiers make, but I wasn't sure exactly why, just that it rubbed me wrong. This article puts a very fine point on those feelings.

Link to source article at alternet dot org:
www.alternet.org...

I believe equating military service and war with sports can be a dangerous and deceitful thing. Here's a powerful excerpted paragraph from the article-

"War is not a sport. It is about killing. It is dirty, messy and deeply demoralizing. It brings with it trauma, lifelong wounds, loss and feelings of shame and guilt. It leaves bleeding or dead bodies on its fields. The pay is lousy. The working conditions are horrific. And those who come back from war are usually discarded. The veterans who died waiting for medical care from Veterans Affairs hospitals could, if they were alive, explain the difference between being a multimillion-dollar-a-year baseball star and a lance corporal home from Iraq or Afghanistan. At best, you are trotted out for a public event, as long as you read from the script they give you, the one designed to entice the naive into the military. Otherwise, you are forgotten."

I've attempted to carefully bring this up for discussion only a couple times with family and friends, and the results haven't been good... once, the situation came VERY close to a physical fight. And I'll admit that not being a veteran myself, I feel a little out of place voicing an opinion, like maybe I haven't earned that right. After all, if the vets are fine with this practice at large sporting events, who am I to tell them it's not right, or that it might be done for the wrong reasons? But the article is very well written, and at the very least, is sure to make people question a few things. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Thoughts?


PS- Wasn't sure exactly which was the proper forum for this. If any mod feels it's better suited to a different place, please feel free to move it.

I agree with the articles premise but I also think there is other reasons they roll out the veterans at these events.

- all the spectators and viewers at home can be told (subtly of course) who they should have for hero's.

- so the young people can imagine themselves standing out there just like them and getting 'thanked' by the crowd. This makes recruitment easier.

- to create a 'we care about and want to recognise our veterans' thing in the public mind which makes recruitment easier.

- to get mothers and fathers at home to think "you know honey, I can just see little Johnny standing out there like them' This makes them more amenable to and rationalises, sending little Johnny off to this death when he's old enough.

originally posted by: SouthernForkway26
Team sports and the military have a lot in common. Both are groups of people pushing their limits in their role as part of a team, working for something bigger than themselves. Young fighting age men are the main participants in professional sports. Juxtaposing sports and military service helps with recruiting.

Yep. You nailed it. Notice when the most commercials air for the armed services...
And those are followed by luxury car and booze ads. College and pro sports are great ad time to reach those most susceptible to subtle suggestion. Nothing more nefarious than what typical Ad companies do that are unrelated to armed service.

The "honoring" that happens during the game just harkens back to the early days of television when actors would take a time out to shill for ads...

When they showed the declaration of independence video prior to the superbowl in 2011, it was to capture millions of peoples’ reaction to it, and record which side of the coin you belong.
Bless those new TVs man.

a reply to: M4nWithNoN4me

I see the whole issue different, after all coming from a military family, married to a former Marine I see now wrong with honoring vets and military in sporting events.

Now, to me is a way to show us Americans that our freedoms and way of life came at the expenses of those that had died for this nation, Several members of my family had died during war times, we can feel safe that amid thousand of people gathered inside a confined place like a stadium enjoying America most watch sports we don't have to be worry about having some terrorist blowing us to pieces.

Symbolism. respect yes, I take that, over doing it, never.