The Vodka God

I generally don't give a damn about baseball, and I'm certainly not watching the "World" Series; but I was informed by thetaet that there is some controversy over the fact that Bob Seger chose to perform America the Beautiful at game one rather than the national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner (which was not performed at all). There has long been a movement to change the national anthem (and America the Beautiful is a commonly-nominated successor), but that apparently had nothing to do with Bob Seger's decision to break tradition – he chose to sing something other than The Star Spangled Banner because the national anthem of the USA is too hard: "[The Star Spangled Banner] is a death trap for singers. … At 61, you get smarter."

I am certainly not the biggest traditionalist in the world, as should be obvious; but I'd like to take this moment to express my unconditional support for The Star Spangled Banner. As a song parodist, and a sometimes drunk one at that, I am damned proud of the fact that my country's official national anthem was set to the tune of To Anacreon in Heaven, a British drinking song. (You also have to like the fact that it was written while we were at war with Britain, using a British song.)

EDIT: If you're in the USA, you can still safely ignore this post.