by Steve Young
Given enough room, Kate Smith has to be turning over in her grave.
In what has to be the most brainless moves in political and sports history - other than Texas Ranger managing partner, George Bush trading Sammy Sosa to the White Sox for Harold Baines - National Hockey League Philadelphia Flyers owner, Ed Snider is bringing in Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin to drop the ceremonial first puck at the Flyers home opener Saturday night.
Besides the fact that it is an overt politically-partisan move by Snider, who is a major Republican donor, that will completely distract from the united fan front of such an evening, the presumed “mixed” reaction from the fans, where boos always echo far louder than cheers, will send the embarrassing YouTube clip swirling breakneck viral through the net until November 5.
Philadelphia doesn’t take kindly to any icon, friendly or not, messing with their sports teams. There are still many unrepentant snowball-throwing terrorists residing in Philly. Has Snider forgotten Santa Claus being pelted with snowballs at the Eagles game?
But even more important than the public humiliation Snider would have provided to Palin and himself, the greatest offense is the defiling of the memory of the Flyer’s time-honored symbol of God, country, and the Broadstreet Bullies…Kate Smith.
A great songstress of earlier days, her stirring rendition of “God Bless America,” she sang her way into Philadelphia sports lore when the team played her version of “God Bless America” before a game in 1969.
The Flyers began to play the song before a number of home games…many more of them they won than lost. When Smith made a surprise visit and actually walked onto the Spectrum ice on October 11, 1973 to sing the Flyer’s appropriated anthem for their opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, she carved a place in every Flyers fan’s heart forever.
Smith again performed the song before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on May 19, 1974, at which the Flyers clinched their first of two back-to-back Stanley Cups, winning that playoff series against the Boston Bruins 4 games to 2, with Bernie Parent shutting the Bruins out 1-0 in that game.
Smith united the fans even more than the game itself, and now Snider has decided to spit on her grave while carving a political divide right through the center of the Wachovia Center.
Kate Smith and Philadelphia deserve more.
Steve Young blogs at the aptly named steveyoungonpolitics.com
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