Why is the National Anthem Played at Sporting Events?

The national anthem is an emotional piece of music designed to elicit patriotic feelings and spark patriotism in its listeners, serving as a staple at sporting events across North America. However, recent debate has revealed how some see anthems being used to divide rather than unify people; everyone seems divided over whether players should stand or kneel during an anthem and all this hubbub takes away from its main purpose of building camaraderie between teammates and fans alike.

United States national anthem has an intriguing history. Composed in 1812 during a bloody battle during the War of 1812, and only officially adopted as national anthem in 1931; nonetheless it became a staple at baseball games due to sound systems making it easier to play it during sporting events; eventually expanding to include all sports events as part of regular schedule.

After World War II, the national anthem became widely seen as a powerful symbol of patriotism, inspiring millions to join the military or volunteer for war effort efforts. Additionally, professional sports leagues began making it part of their tradition to play the anthem before home games.

After World War II, this tradition continued and historian Marc Ferris notes that teams began feeling obliged to make it part of their games regularly. Before this point, however, hiring a band to play the anthem at games was an expensive affair; afterward teams could obtain music free-of-charge and quickly made the anthem a regular part of games.

But while national anthems are an integral part of American sporting culture, this may not hold true elsewhere. Most other countries only play their anthem before international matches when their team represents their nation – for instance you might hear England play Brazil but not Celtic-Benfica games!

It doesn’t mean the anthem should be avoided; rather than getting caught up in political climate and “patriotism police”, teams should look for other ways of creating unity and sense of belonging in their communities. For instance, teams such as Toronto Raptors would play both Canadian and US anthems before games as a way of representing diversity of population within that city – perhaps an excellent model for other sports to follow when trying to build connections within communities.