National anthems

[Giles Daldanus]

It’s always a special moment when players and spectators prepare to sing the national anthem of a country prior to kickoff. This sometimes evokes feelings of transcendence and is a reminder that soccer could help uncover the patriotic fervor simmering just beneath the surface.
There have been quite a few controversies in recent years (i.e. during the 2010 World Cup some of the players from ethnic minority backgrounds did not feel like singing the German anthem and strong regional attachments create issues in the case of the Spanish supporters). However, let’s focus on the positives.
Post some of your favorite clips of footballers belting out the national anthems of their countries and showing how proud they are to represent them.
United States of America (1990 World Cup): [video=youtube;a7kfzbq-IoU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7kfzbq-IoU[/video]
(not overly passionate, but the Americans create the impression of sincerity and dedication to the national cause)
Croatia (2006 World Cup): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWMtENllfVM
(most of the footballers appear to know the lyrics by heartand display their commitment to the national cause)

 

[frederic38]

[video=youtube_share;YBunJcr1DP8]http://youtu.be/YBunJcr1DP8[/video]

even harinordoquy, who never sings because he's basque, seems to enjoy the anthem

the highest rated comment on the video:

Ca change des footeux "français" qui font honte à la france.

= "refreshing compared with the "french" soccer players who are a disgrace to france"

 

[jaxvid]

[video=youtube_share;YBunJcr1DP8]http://youtu.be/YBunJcr1DP8[/video] even harinordoquy, who never sings because he's basque, seems to enjoy the anthem the highest rated comment on the video: = "refreshing compared with the "french" soccer players who are a disgrace to france"

I don't like the anthem at sports events. I don't think much of the amerikan empire anymore so celebrating it's phony victory in a sports event holds no attraction to me. What does the country that sends out drones, oppresses White people, and destroys traditional culture have to do with what an athlete accomplished? It's all fake patriotism meant to exploit the natural urge of people to want to support the tribe. It should be dismissed especially when used to manipulate you.

 

[Jack Lambert]

[video=youtube;SmTTp4Sjynk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmTTp4Sjynk[/video]

Here's the German National Anthem, from the 2006 World Cup. Notice how the only person not singing it is, of course, Lukas Podolski. There's some great passion by the fans, and players in this one.

 

[Jack Lambert]

[video=youtube;eWBR_W1gKDw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWBR_W1gKDw[/video]


One of my favorite national anthem moments: England singing the anthem in Euro 1996. With an all-white starting line-up too! I love the passion in this anthem, especially by Pearce, Southgate, and Adams. The crowd is belting it out as well. If you go to the page of the video itself, you can see a few comments that want an all-white English starting XI again.

 

[frederic38]

I don't like the anthem at sports events. I don't think much of the amerikan empire anymore so celebrating it's phony victory in a sports event holds no attraction to me. What does the country that sends out drones, oppresses White people, and destroys traditional culture have to do with what an athlete accomplished? It's all fake patriotism meant to exploit the natural urge of people to want to support the tribe. It should be dismissed especially when used to manipulate you.

i understand why you say that
last time i was watching a MLB match, miami marlins against another team i think
during the whole match, they were talking about the outstanding soldiers out there fighting for our freedom, they interviewed a lot of soldiers who were in the stadium ect
it was way over the top
i'm not very patriotic either
usually in white countries the national identity is narrowed down to a few things: the anthem, the flag, a few (anti)-values like tolerance ect, and that's it

 

[frederic38]

at least some countries have true european flags and anthems hiding the non-white, non-european civilisation that replaced the real one
england has the 3 lions on its jersey (that's the symbol of normandy)
germany has an eagle, i don't know where it comes from but it looks european
france just has 3 colors instead of the true historical flags we used to have (like for example the flag of normandy that england has on its soccer jersey)

 

[frederic38]

[video=youtube;SmTTp4Sjynk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmTTp4Sjynk[/video]

Here's the German National Anthem, from the 2006 World Cup. Notice how the only person not singing it is, of course, Lukas Podolski. There's some great passion by the fans, and players in this one.

do the germans always put their arms around each other's shoulder like that during the anthem?
i remember that the brazilian players used to hold each-others hands before going to sing the anthems
it looked strange, but it's a team sports after all

 

[Europe]

I don't like the anthem at sports events. I don't think much of the amerikan empire anymore so celebrating it's phony victory in a sports event holds no attraction to me. What does the country that sends out drones, oppresses White people, and destroys traditional culture have to do with what an athlete accomplished? It's all fake patriotism meant to exploit the natural urge of people to want to support the tribe. It should be dismissed especially when used to manipulate you.

I agree, especially at NFL, NBA and MLB when there aren't even countries playing. It is such nonsense.

We don't even control our borders and let anybody in the country. A nation is a group of people related by ethnicity, language, culture and religion. What does that have to do with America and increasing European countries?

White people are now attacked and even arrested for speaking out against the takeover their countries.

 

[Giles Daldanus]

@Frederic, excellent, I am adding it to my favorites, it’s wonderful that no one could doubt the team camaraderie!
@Jaxvid, I agree with you that on occasions it could be seen as a pointless endeavor (especially if a nation lacks unity or a country is plagued by serious issues like corruption and is recovering from a civil war), phony soccer patriotism could cause the citizens to sweep the real problems under the carpet. However, I also think that it could also trickle down to the wider society…if I am not mistaken, the achievements of the German national team in the mid to late 1990s have been credited with bringing about a resurgence of non-soccer patriotism – displaying pride in Germany’s rich artistic and scientific heritage gradually started to become more acceptable. There were even some discussions regarding the potential effects of the Spanish World Cup win on the Catalan secessionist aspirations.

As for the States, my impression is that American minorities tend to be better integrated than those in Europe and are thus more likely to genuinely identify with the United States and feel pride in representing its national teams (I have in mind footballers like Tim Howard or Eddie Pope, this possibly doesn’t apply as much to dual citizens or naturalized Americans).
@Jack Lambert, nice choices! Yes, if I am not mistaken, Podolski was also among those players who didn’t sing the anthem in 2010. However, I have to say that for many years (especially between 2006 and 2010) he performed better for Germany than for his club team and his work rate has always been admirabe. I am quite surprised that he didn’t follow Klose’s example (Klose is half German, while Podolski appears to lack significant ethnic connections to Germany) who always joins in the singing.
As for the England team, that’s indeed what I want to see on the football pitch! I think that Gary Neville’s seemingly sullen demeanor could be explained by this clip (he is the type who doesn’t like his concentration to be affected), I don’t doubt his commitment to the national side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUqg49uKIfE

@Europe, yes, it could become a bit of a farce if the eligibility requirements are extremely loose (this is probably an even bigger issue in sports like basketball than in soccer). It seems as if truly mercenary players generally refrain from actively participating in the opening ceremony and prefer to keep a low profile.

1990 World Cup final:
I like this clip as well (unfortunately, the crowd ruins it a bit, not sure why they were booing the Argentines).
The German players and their fans were fantastic.
[video=youtube;o8cyB50XkQs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8cyB50XkQs[/video]