Man ejected from Yankee Stadium for lack of patriotism

Brett Singer — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:00:00 GMT

I tried to come up with something funny to say about this but I was too annoyed. Sorry about that.

The sportsblog Deadspin interviewed one Bradford Campeau-Laurion who was manhandled by the police (or possibly just Yankee Stadium security; it's not entirely clear). His crime? Getting up during the singing of "God Bless America." Apparently staying motionless during the song (usually a recording of Kate Smith, pictured), played during the 7th inning of baseball games after the 9/11 attacks, is a Yankee Stadium rule imposed by George Steinbrenner last year as, "an expression of patriotism."

Here is Bradford's description of what happened to him:

I attempted to get up to use the restroom, rather urgently, during the 7th inning stretch as God Bless America was beginning. As I attempted to walk down the aisle and exit my section into the tunnel, I was stopped by a police officer. He informed me that I had to wait until the song was over. I responded that I had to use the restroom and that I did not care about God Bless America.

As soon as the latter came out of my mouth, my right arm was twisted violenty [sic] behind my back and I was informed that I was being escorted out of the stadium.

In other words, he had the nerve to (a) move during a patriotic song and (b) to state that he didn't care about said song. No matter how patriotic you consider yourself to be, I hope that you find the behavior of the officers/security personnel to be objectionable.

Source: Deadspin

Image: e-musicpedia

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Lou Gehrig Day on July 4th

Brett Singer — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:00:00 GMT

July 4th is also a special day for baseball fans. July 4th, 1939 was "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day." Gehrig, who earned the nickname "The Iron Horse" for playing in 2,130 consecutive games (a record broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1995), had become seriously ill and was forced to retire from playing. After an emotional series of speeches, Gehrig stepped up to the mic and addressed the crowd, delivering the now immortal line, "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Despite my cynicism when it comes to most things, this video still gets me misty-eyed. Yes, sports are just another form of entertainment, but there are times when certain events just get to you. This is definitely one of them.

A couple of trivia questions to hit people with at your barbeque tonight: Gehrig's record for the most grand slams in a season, 23, still stands. "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" was held one week before the All-Star Game was played at Yankee Stadium, which is also where the All-Star Game will be held this year. And after retiring, he took a job as the New York City Parole Commissioner, turning down more lucrative job offers; he then went to visit prisons, asking that the media not follow him. (source) Can you imagine Alex "it's all about me" Rodriquez doing something like that? Um, no.

Bottom line: great player, great Yankee, and by all accounts, a real class act.

Video of the speech is below, or click here for the text.

Strollerderby : yankee stadium