Soldiers and war veterans are a strong part of American culture. That’s why the basketball legends interviewed Lauri Markkas, who was awarded in the NBA, mostly about his military service.
Paavo HäikiöCultural journalist
The same ritual is repeated in the United States before every professional match: the crowd is asked to stand during the national anthem.
“Please rise for our National Anthem.”
The high point of the song is the high note “and the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air”. The television cameras alternately pan on the singer and alternately on the players, who are lined up with their heads bent.
At the same time, in America’s home theaters, a small movement overwhelms the mind, when the standard bearers of the army armory do the honors (you transfer to another service).
But why does the national anthem glorify “the red sound of rockets” or “the explosion of bombs in the air”, which in Finnish sounds like militaristic arms glorification?
The lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner date from 1814. The song refers to the congreve rockets used by the British navy, which were the most advanced weapons of the time.
by Francis Scott Key in the lyrics, in the light of the rockets, you can see how the American flag is still up.
“Give proof through the night that our flag was still there.”
When Lauri Markkanen announced that he was going to do his military service during the NBA summer break, the matter was covered by almost all major American media. CNN (switch to another service), Fox News (you are switching to another service), ESPN (switch to another service) and CBS (you switch to another service) everyone talked about the topic.
Last night by Ted Turner in the live broadcast of the owned TNT television channel, Markkanen was named the most developed NBA player of the year.
The program’s commentators are among the most respected players in NBA history Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. The two didn’t ask Markkanes much about basketball, because they and the TV viewers were interested in asking about the army (you switch to another service).
At the end of the interview, Barkley said two things that have a deep impact on American culture: “Thank you for your service”, which is used to thank everyone who served in the armed forces, and the fact that in America the state does not value war veterans enough.
Sports and war heroes have many things in common
Today, Lauri Markkanen’s nickname is “The Finnisher”, “Finisher”, what he himself likes the most (you switch to another service).
Previously, while playing at the University of Arizona and the Chicago Bulls, he was still “The Markksman”, “The Marksman”.
Markskas is admired in America because he combines Finland’s joining NATO at the same time, a sniper Simo Häyhän legend and American appreciation for war veterans.
Sports heroes and war heroes have many things in common. Who we admire tells us about our values.
There are just under 3,000 war veterans alive in Finland. There are 16.5 million of them in America (you switch to another service)i.e. about 6.4% of the adult population. And as many as 61 percent of Americans have a close relative who served in the military (you transfer to another service).
Where two-thirds of Finnish men join the army, and a thousand or so women, the situation is completely different in American professional sports.
2019 article lists famous American professional athletes who have served in the military (switch to other service). There are mainly American football players, a few baseball players and a couple of boxers.
Most of the pictures are so old that they are black and white. For the last 20 years, not a single professional athlete has participated.
There is only one basketball player on the entire list: someone who served in the Air Force Bill Bradleywho after his sports career became a senator and later a presidential candidate of the democratic party.
Americans have had two kinds of heroes in the 21st century: professional athletes or those who have served in the military. Lauri Markkanen combines both of these.
SpongeBob Häikiö
The author is the host and scriptwriter of Kulttuuricocktail Live and has watched almost every game of Markkanen’s NBA career.
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