California Crowd Defies Announcer, Sings National Anthem at High School Softball Championship

National Anthem at softball game (Tiffany Marquez / Facebook)
Tiffany Marquez / Facebook

A crowd attending the Central Section Division I softball championship in Fresno on Friday evening burst into The Star-Spangled Banner after being told by the announcer that there would be no national anthem before the game.

The Fresno Bee reported:

Before Clovis High played Buchanan Friday night for the Central Section softball championship, the announcer representing the section stated there wouldn’t be a national anthem prior to the game.

Those in attendance at Fresno State’s Margie Wright Diamond weren’t having any of that.

Following a loud chorus of boos, the patriotic crowd stood up and began singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” a cappella.

Many removed their hats and placed their hands over their hearts. Others simply stood tall with pride.

Players stopped their pregame warmups to turn around and face the American flag that waved beyond the center-field wall.

When the song was over, the crowd burst into a round of applause.

According to the Bee, the game’s organizers acknowledged that they had made a mistake.

Video of the anthem was posted to Facebook by fan Tiffany Marquez, according to CBS News.

Clovis High School defeated Buchanan High School, 6-3, to win the championship.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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