Being that today is an off day and the Halos home opener is coming up tomorrow, I feel the time is right to bring up a subject that irks me to no end; a frequent spectacle at many major sporting events across America, such as playoff games and openers; the military "fly over."
Though I'm not quite sure where or when this practice was first initiated I have personally witnessed it many times. I must admit that just prior to Super Bowl XXX in Arizona I felt a rush of adrenaline when(I think they were F-16's) three fighter jets punctuated an array of fireworks and the National Anthem by racing over the heads of the awestruck crowd below. But despite what always seems to be a unanimously positive crowd response to these gaudy displays of America military hardware -- I remain not only unimpressed but disgusted.
When I overcame my purely visceral response to the sound and speed of the jets at SB XXX I was left with a sick, used feeling -- sort of like being subjected to advertising in unexpected places. Like going to McDonald's for a cup of coffee and being bombarded with colorful adds for Disney's latest animated epic or "The Pirates of the Caribbean."
Basically, I feel that sporting events shouldn't be used to promote the military industrial complex or America's imperialist agenda. I go to Angel Stadium to watch baseball, not propaganda. I'm paying to see the Angels, not a bombastic, live-action promo for American military might.
Wait, you might say. Are you not a patriotic American? To answer that question I will simply quote Samuel Johnson, who said "patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."
I realize I will be outnumbered "behind the Orange Curtain" in Orage County, but I hope there is not another "fly over" tomorrow night prior to the Angels/Yankees game. If there is, you definitely will not see me whooping it up, or hooting, hollaring and cheering my approval as that Stealth Bomber flies over my head.