Football players from opposing NESCAC teams at Trinity College and Hamilton College took the singing of the national anthem into their own hands Saturday when a reported failed public address system led to an announcement there would be “no anthem.”
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The Bantams of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and the Continentals of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, all stood for the playing of the national anthem, when, suddenly, no music was heard.
The Hartford Courant reports:
Dave Kingsley Trinity’s director of sports communications has been working at the school for 19 years and while he has experienced technical difficulties with the playing of the anthem in other sports at the school it has never happened in football.
The streak ended Saturday.
Trinity coach Jeff Devanney said there was an announcement stating that due to difficulties the anthem would not be played.
“I think it was something involving the volume to the overall sound system I’m not exactly sure,” Kingsley said. “It was a concern because for a second we thought we heard some boos.”
“A couple of guys on our team were like ‘No man, you gotta play the song,'” Devanney said. “And then a couple guys just started singing.”
Once the Trinity players began singing, the Hamilton players joined in.
“We weren’t all in sync,” Devanney said. “We had like three different waves of the Star-Spangled Banner going.”
“It was amazing, especially with what we’re seeing in the NFL, the political climate that not only the rest of our team joined in but Hamilton and all the fans joined in, too,” Ethan Suraci, Trinity College senior fullback, said. “It was truly amazing.”
Suraci, a political science major, said the Star-Spangled Banner is one his favorite songs and he listens to it daily.
Regarding the protests against the anthem, he says:
Our first amendment allows people to protest. I think they have every right to be protesting. I personally see the flag more than cloth and color. I see it as a binding force for the country even though people disagree with what’s going on politically these days especially with kind of a wild card president and some wild card policies but in general I see it as a way to respect those who came before us, who allowed us the freedom to protest and fight for it every day. It’s something I hold true in my heart and I know a lot of guys on the team do, too.
Suraci says something is not right if the national anthem is not played before a football game.
“A lot of the guys on the team love the national anthem,” he continued. “Love listening to it, love singing it and love America. We get all jacked up and then we hear there are technical difficulties. That’s like … no breakfast in the morning or mom didn’t cook you dinner.”
“So, you make it yourself, right?” he says.
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