It hasn’t become a big story in the news over the past few days, but a few sports outlets have picked up Justin Morneau’s comments regarding the Canadian national anthem and the all-star game.
Although we at home would be oblivious to the situation as television only showed Sheryl Crow’s version of the U.S. anthem, apparently the Canadian anthem was not performed live, and the recording that was played was very poor. Afterwards, Morneau spoke up and said that he ” … wasn’t very impressed … you figure they could find somebody to come and sing the song. They have a hockey team here, the Canadian teams play here.”
Justin Morneau at Last Year's All Star Game
I find it very refreshing, and ironically slightly ‘un-Canadian’ that Morneau spoke out. Good for him for putting his country first and saying what he felt. Many of us are used to being shoved aside by MLB (think ’93 World Series where the Canadian Flag was flown upside down, loss of the Expos, etc.), but Justin would not let this slide. And nor should he. If our anthem is going to be played along side the Star Spangled Banner, then it should received equal treatment. You can be sure the Americans would demand the same level of respect if the game was played in Canada.
I don’t want to talk blame too much, but this definitely has to fall on the shoulders of MLB offices. Reading an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch today, it is quite clear that the extent of control that the head office has over the game is enormous. So much so that the pregame ceremony with Stan Musial was cut short on their orders, which is saying something in St. Louis where he might be the most popular person in that state ever! All anthems that are played should demand equal respect. Period.
If Justin Morneau had not made these comments, nothing would have been said, and the issue ignored. But he attempted to bring the issue to the forefront so this embarassing scene would not be repeated. But surprisingly, very few media reporters went with the story. Why? Jeff Blair, a great baseball mind with the Globe and Mail seems to be the only one discussing the comments. And I fully agree with the thesis of his blog posting, why even play the anthems at all? It’s a sporting event, not a political event. Just get the game going, and you will avoid controversies like this one.
Just another reason why I may not be a big Minnesota Twins fan, but I am a big Justin Morneau fan.
UPDATE: Jason Bay’s take on the anthem “Morneau and I could have done it if they really needed somebody” !!!!!!!!
Baseball North 