The Senate today voted in favor of a bill which will bar the Pentagon from giving taxpayer money to NFL teams or other sports franchises in return for them “honoring the troops” during their games.
Reports of the “Patriotism for Profit” program emerged last month, with the revelations that 14 NFL teams had received $5.4 million in return for timeout displays of thanking troops for their service. This was quickly condemned by several top Congressmen.
The three Senators who pushed this bill, Sens. John McCain (R – AZ), Jeff Flake (R – AZ), and Richard Blumenthal (D – CT) issued a statement saying that the US could not afford to give “scarce defense dollars to wealthy sports teams,” decrying the program as a “marketing ploy.”
The NFL, the apparent primary beneficiaries of this program, criticized the bill, saying it was a “distorted picture” of the long-standing relationship between the military and professional football. A spokesman went on to insist the programs to “honor the troops” would continue even if the money stopped.
Good. All this fake paid-for patriotism is annoying. Now how about the US stops supporting terrorist the world over, in the spirit of saving scarce (?!) defense dollars.
"A spokesman went on to insist the programs to “honor the troops” would continue even if the money stopped."
We'll see… This form of "hero worship" was pretty disgusting anyway. 99.9999% are not "heroes" and they're definitely not keeping us safe – quite the opposite, IMO. It used to be safe for Americans to travel just about anywhere in the world. Now, large regions of the world are very unsafe for travel – and not just for Americans. I wonder if the soldiers in Europe are still required to affix stickers on their cars indicating that they are from the USA or issuing USA license plates?
I can't answer your question, but I can tell you that at the 2006 World Cup (and the later ones, IIRC) the US team had to travel to and from the various stadiums incognito. The other 31 teams traveled in buses proudly emblazoned with their national flags.
Kinda says volumes, doesn't it…
Given my antipathy toward the NFL, and toward questionable displays of patriotism, I initially thought banning such payments was a good idea. However, consider the reason McCain, Flake, and Blumenthal gave for opposing such payments: “scarce defense dollars to wealthy sports teams".
Presumably, spending money on honouring the troops would reduce the amount of funds available for bombing Wogs in various countries. In that light, dubious displays of patriotism suddenly seem more appealing.