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So apparently the Mavs have not been playing it for a while now and no one noticed it due to no fans. The moment Cubes brought it to attention, a lot of folks are upset. 

Personally I think the national anthem should only be played at the Olympics. I don’t have a problem with it.

I personally like the tradition of playing the anthem before the game. 

I don't believe the anthem is a political tool, at least it shouldn't be. And looking at this through that lens, I struggle to see why Cubes is doing this other than trying to win political points on twitter. 

Playing devil's advocate, there isn't really a reason to play the anthem before a game other than it's solely a traditional thing. And just because you've always done something doesn't mean it's the right thing. Also some people do think the anthem is a political thing, though I disagree with them. 

I do think this is an unpopular choice by Cuban and I think he'll probably bring it back next season.

Yeah, it just seems like Cuban is deliberately trying to run off old patriotic farts like me.   Damn, this is a great country, and it is so disappointing to see people in prominent positions enabling and even advancing narratives that are just not true about the country at large. 

It's not so much that the anthem is not being played, but, rather, WHY it is not being played.  I guess he thinks moves like this will serve as a resume enhancement for the woke if/when he runs for president. I expect he's soon going to be hearing from a lot of season ticket holders.

I think after the Mavs front office scandals, Cuban has no desire to run for President 

As for political, it became political the day players decided to kneel. Cuban did not start that. His rationale here might be that he is taking politics out of it. 

I don’t understand the whole patriotism angle with playing the National Anthem before a sports event. None of us petition our employer to play it before the start of a work day. 

I know this is a very personal issue and folks have differing opinions, none of which are wrong. 

One thing though...Cuban sure loves publicity...good or bad. He is smart enough to know that even if many would agree with him, he would also get a lot of negative feedback, and the best thing would be to maintain status quo. However negative publicity has never stopped Cuban

(02-10-2021, 10:11 AM)hakeemfan Wrote: [ -> ]I think after the Mavs front office scandals, Cuban has no desire to run for President 

A sex scandal hasn't stopped anyone from running for president before and certainly hasn't stopped anyone from winning.

I really do think Cubes is gunning for a 2024 run as the more rational/sane version of Trump. He's not a career politician which would win points with the people that resonated with Trump. He's also marched in BLM/made social justice causes a priority etc/ so that appeals to the left.

Dude is playing the long game and I truly truly think this is just another play for a potential presidential bid.

(02-10-2021, 10:11 AM)hakeemfan Wrote: [ -> ]I don’t understand the whole patriotism angle with playing the National Anthem before a sports event. None of us petition our employer to play it before the start of a work day. 

THIS.

It is actually crazy to me that we think it appropriate or normal and not totally bizarre to play the national anthem at a random sporting event that does NOT actually represent the country or nation.

BUT on another level, it is not bizarre because it was revealed by Jeff Flake and John McCain that the Department of Defense has been in bed with sports leagues in what is termed "paid patriotism." The military sees sporting events as a way to get its "message" and "mission" into the hearts of everyday Americans.

I remember in school when we used to recite the pledge every morning before class started during the 70s-80s...now the things we were taught to respect like the flag, anthem, and pledge are not given that level of respect anymore...

(02-10-2021, 10:34 AM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]THIS.

It is actually crazy to me that we think it appropriate or normal and not totally bizarre to play the national anthem at a random sporting event that does NOT actually represent the country or nation.

BUT on another level, it is not bizarre because it was revealed by Jeff Flake and John McCain that the Department of Defense has been in bed with sports leagues in what is termed "paid patriotism." The military sees sporting events as a way to get its "message" and "mission" into the hearts of everyday Americans.

It's not crazy, and you are delving into pretty strange conspiracy theorist territory with your BUT statement.  

I completely see why it is and why it was done, adn it's myopic to come iwth short-sighted dime store comebacks like "why don't you get mad at your employer for not playing it".  The fact is that if someone's employer played it before every game for 30 years, and then all of a sudden, stopped doing it to make a poltiical statement about the country -- which is what he's leaving up for interpretation, considering comments he's made and a lack of explanation on his part -- it's totally reasonable in this climate to be confused and possibly insulted.

I'm not angry with him and slamming things around, but I am seriously considering my support for the team.  That may sound crazy to you, and I'm not making a big political statement, but, depending on his response as to why, I'm not sure that I can watch the game without this statement he made just sitting there on the "screen", so to speak like this sad elephant in the room, for me personally, the whole time.  And it was a statement, not just a format change to innocently try something different.

To say that it doesn't represent this country is pretty myopic as well, because without the United States, and the economy and enterpreneurial opportunity that he, others and professional sports has been afforded by the existence of this country, they wouldn't exist at the level that they do.  There's a reason this doesn't really exist other places and people want to come here in droves. 

No, the country didn't personally do the work, but saying it doesn't matter is like saying the Dad that instilled values in you and sacrificed for you to achieve what you have achieved doesn't matter.  Did they do the work you did?  No, but they set you up to and so has the people and structure of this country.  That is what is being lost as we zoom in on the bad parts...we lose that no matter what anyone says, there are good things here as well, and this seems just like another step...it's bigger than a program change, and Cuban knew exactly what this would do. 

It's like there was this awesome table of food and someone just threw a dead fish into the middle of it and said just go ahead and eat it...it's the same food.  I'm not sure I can...I'm still thinking through it.

I became a fan when they were considered the worst franchise in professional sports, and for the last 25 years, I've proudly repped my team from Cherokee Parks and Martin Mursepp to Erick Strickland and Eddie Najera through Dirk to Luka...all the embarrassment and the jokes, but I'm really not sure that this is one I will survive.

I literally depends on his response...and honestly, guys, sadly enough, silence and dismissive comments meant to belittle people that feel the way I do and backhandedly insult me really won't cut it. 

I know none of you care, and I know Cuban doesn't.  I'm the price of an occasional ticket, and he factored any loss out and all that in before announcing it.  The "no one noticed" thing isn't a deal because there are no fans to notice until last game, because they don't play that part of the festivities on national TV except at large games.

Still...it's saying something to people like me.  It just is.

(02-10-2021, 11:02 AM)TXBamanut Wrote: [ -> ]It's not crazy, and you are delving into pretty strange conspiracy theorist territory with your BUT statement.

Dude, it is not "conspiracy theory," get that garbage out of here. The Department of Defense has paid the NFL and other leagues to promote their "product" and "mission." At times, it has been in the monetary interests of the professional sports leagues to promote patriotism through their events. Just facts. ZERO conspiracy.

In Europe they do not play national anthems before sports events.  As an immigrant I like hearing it, I liked the pledge of allegiance in schools because I love and appreciate the United States.  Is it necessary to play before every sports game, maybe not.  However as an earlier poster said it, why now?  Why remove it at a time when so many have disrespected our flag whether its BLM marchers who burned it, or right wingers entering the capitol.  I think politics should stay out of sports.

(02-10-2021, 11:07 AM)haveitall Wrote: [ -> ]I think politics should stay out of sports.

Agreed. Unfortunately since Silver came in as commissioner the NBA has made it it's mission to become the "woke" league in hopes that it'd make them more popular.

(02-10-2021, 09:10 AM)SleepingHero Wrote: [ -> ]I struggle to see why Cubes is doing this other than trying to win political points on twitter. 

My guess would be that he's trying to avoid the politics altogether, at least in the context of Mavs games. We know he has no problem mixing it up with people in his personal voice on twitter, that's for sure.

(02-10-2021, 10:11 AM)hakeemfan Wrote: [ -> ]I think after the Mavs front office scandals, Cuban has no desire to run for President 

As for political, it became political the day players decided to kneel. Cuban did not start that. His rationale here might be that he is taking politics out of it. 

I don’t understand the whole patriotism angle with playing the National Anthem before a sports event. None of us petition our employer to play it before the start of a work day. 

I know this is a very personal issue and folks have differing opinions, none of which are wrong. 

One thing though...Cuban sure loves publicity...good or bad. He is smart enough to know that even if many would agree with him, he would also get a lot of negative feedback, and the best thing would be to maintain status quo. However negative publicity has never stopped Cuban

Well, to me it's a different situation from where most of us work, in that major sporting events are the occasions for large societal gatherings, whether in person or on TV.  You've had near 20,000 Americans turning out for NBA games and 80,000 or more for NFL games, and I don't know how many for MLB games.

IMO, the mere freedom that we have in this country to so freely engage in such a cornucopia of sporting events is a reason for celebration.  The anthem is just a reminder of how we came to be such a free people.

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(02-10-2021, 11:07 AM)haveitall Wrote: [ -> ]In Europe they do not play national anthems before sports events.  As an immigrant I like hearing it, I liked the pledge of allegiance in schools because I love and appreciate the United States.  Is it necessary to play before every sports game, maybe not.  However as an earlier poster said it, why now?  Why remove it at a time when so many have disrespected our flag whether its BLM marchers who burned it, or right wingers entering the capitol.  I think politics should stay out of sports.

Agreed, but when did playing the Anthem become political?

(02-10-2021, 11:14 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]My guess would be that he's trying to avoid the politics altogether, at least in the context of Mavs games. We know he has no problem mixing it up with people in his personal voice on twitter, that's for sure

Like others have said, removing the national anthem at this specific time in our country is a little counterintuitive if Cuban is trying to avoid politics all together.


Put it this way, wouldn't it be less political if Cuban just played the national anthem and done the status quo like every other team in the league? It's obvious he's trying to make a statement, and given recent events from the Jan 6 debacle, to the BLM protests/riots, him removing the national anthem is a pretty blatant expression against it. Which is disappointing to say the least.

There are certain unifying core tenants that make a country a country. The flag, the anthem, the people etc. Without these identifiers there is no United States, UK, or whatever country you want. 

Now again, playing devil's advocate, there isn't any 1 reason we can point to and say "this is why we should play the national anthem at games". It's a tradition borne out of what is likely paid military propaganda. I can see the argument against it because of its likely origins and the fact that we shouldn't do something just because we've always done it. But  it's also a show of gratitude for the country that we're in and recognizing the USA as we play a competition sport in which it resides. I don't think it's bad to have it, because all it is is a sign of respect of where we are.  

It could 1000% be possible that Cuban doesn't want to pay for a performer during COVID with no fans and he'll bring it back next season and this is all overblown, but I don't think that's what Cuban is trying to go for here. And I am disappointed in this choice greatly.

(02-10-2021, 11:14 AM)mtrot Wrote: [ -> ]Agreed, but when did playing the Anthem become political?

When a certain portion of the population believed that the history of the USA greatly affected their families and don't want to partake in a show of respect for the country that has harmed them.

Now do I agree with their logic? No. I find it a bit inane. But I can see where they're coming from, even if it is a bit out there.

(02-10-2021, 11:24 AM)SleepingHero Wrote: [ -> ]Like others have said, removing the national anthem at this specific time in our country is a little counterintuitive if Cuban is trying to avoid politics all together.


Put it this way, wouldn't it be less political if Cuban just played the national anthem and done the status quo like every other team in the league? It's obvious he's trying to make a statement, and given recent events from the Jan 6 debacle, to the BLM protests/riots, him removing the national anthem is a pretty blatant expression against it. Which is disappointing to say the least.

There are certain unifying core tenants that make a country a country. The flag, the anthem, the people etc. Without these identifiers there is no United States, UK, or whatever country you want. 

Now again, playing devil's advocate, there isn't any 1 reason we can point to and say "this is why we should play the national anthem at games". It's a tradition borne out of what is likely paid military propaganda. I can see the argument against it because of its likely origins and the fact that we shouldn't do something just because we've always done it. But  it's also a show of gratitude for the country that we're in and recognizing the USA as we play a competition sport in which it resides. I don't think it's bad to have it, because all it is is a sign of respect of where we are.  

It could 1000% be possible that Cuban doesn't want to pay for a performer during COVID with no fans and he'll bring it back next season and this is all overblown, but I don't think that's what Cuban is trying to go for here. And I am disappointed in this choice greatly.

Yeah, sometimes you just don't realize or appreciate what you had and how great it was, until you've lost it.

The Star-Spangled Banner made it’s debut in September 1918, during that year’s first World Series game between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox.

In addition to the ongoing toll of World War I, a cloud of violence hung over Chicago’s Comiskey Park, as a bomb had torn apart the Chicago Federal Building just the day before. During the seventh-inning stretch, the military band on hand struck up “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and in a moving spectacle, players and fans alike fell silent and saluted the flag.

The practice soon spread across major league baseball, and into other sports, and eventually became a widely accepted pregame tradition.

History.com

(02-10-2021, 08:36 AM)hakeemfan Wrote: [ -> ]So apparently the Mavs have not been playing it for a while now and no one noticed it due to no fans. The moment Cubes brought it to attention, a lot of folks are upset. 

Personally I think the national anthem should only be played at the Olympics. I don’t have a problem with it.

This might be the 2nd best MBT decision of the last decade after drafting Luka.

The NATIONAL anthem is for athletes/teams representing their country in a sport competition. I don´t know another countr  in the world that plays their national anthem for any league competitions. You might as well add golf and tennis (outside of Ryder Cup, Olympics, Davis and Fed Cup .

Can you imagine if the Australian Open played the national anthem of Australia or/and the involved players before all 500 matches over a two week span. They´d have the organizers put under mental evaluation.

(02-10-2021, 11:29 AM)mtrot Wrote: [ -> ]Like others have said, removing the national anthem at this specific time in our country is a little counterintuitive if Cuban is trying to avoid politics all together.

Yeah, I'm not saying it's going to be successful, and I don't KNOW that's what he's trying to accomplish, it's just what makes the most sense to me when I put myself in his shoes.

I'd guess that what he's TRYING to do is to remove the inevitable moment when his players will take a knee in front of very conservative Texas fans. The only possible outcome of this moment is fans booing their own players. Whatever you think about the politics, one side or the other, as the Mavericks' owner, I think I can imagine how he might want to avoid that, if possible.