Most of you read this blog know that I am a big time Eagles fan. During the football season I pretty much bleed Eagle green, and I am still pinching myself after our Super Bowl win over those New England Cheatriots.
Now I, like most Americans, understand that it is customary for the Super Bowl champions to visit the White House to celebrate their victory with the president. I also knew this would be problematic because this particular president pretty much told NFL players to leave the country if they didn't kiss his ring, obey all his commands, and stand and sing the national anthem. (Even though he doesn't know that words. himself) He also called their mothers bitches. Throw in the fact that the Eagles are one of the most "woke" teams in the NFL, and there is no way this was going to be easy. But, as is to be expected with this autocratic president, the Super Bowl champions were still expected to go to Washington and participate in his charade.
To the Eagle's credit, they told the players that if they wanted to go to the White House they would be free to do so. And some- including the team's quarterback- said that they would go.
So the invite was on, and today was to be the day that Gang Green descends on Pennsylvania Avenue. Sadly for trump (and this is a fact), less than a dozen players agreed to go. The White House expected a lot more, and trump, who is obsessed with size, could not live with the optics of only having a few of the Super Bowl champions show up. So what did he do? He quickly disinvited them before they showed up and embarrassed him. But that wasn't enough. He also told a lie about the Birds and their actions during the NFL season when giving his reason for canceling the invitation. For the record, not one Eagle took a knee during the playing of the anthem, and not one stayed in the locker room. trump concocted this lie to appease his base and keep the culture war raging.
The biggest losers in this fiasco might be the NFL and the owners. trump is getting what he wants by creating this phony patriotism battle, and the owners are losing the public relations battle with their fans, as well as credibility with their players. The owner's panicked and caved to trump without consulting with the players and thinking that trump would get their back. They misread the landscape. They didn't realize that trump didn't want peace; he wanted war.
Today the president held something called the Celebration of America, it was meant to be a patriotic event where the president can stand in front of a bunch of flags and bask in the glow of all the faux patriotism surrounding him. Of course, it didn't go as planned. A couple of protesters reminded us that we still live in America, and one wannabe dictator whose ego is almost as large as his list of crimes will not change how we live our lives.
*Pic from theatlantic.com
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