Not only that, but I can remember back when players felt the most important part of their job was to be the kind of (patriotic American) men that the young could and did look up to, as well as to be the decent and honorable Americans that parents wanted their children to admire and grow up to be.
Ditto that, Kelly.
My late husband and I owned a golf sport center with a pro shop and a driving range in Du Page County, Illinois (a GOP suburb just west of Chicago) years ago.
If they played on Chicago teams or if they were playing in Chicago for a week, many great names in sports came to our place in the 'burbs to hit balls....and many times they would come upstairs to chew the fat and have a Pepsi or a beer with us in our office, sometimes even staying on for a couple hours after we turned the range lights off at 10 PM.
I can't remember all the names.....Tony LaRussa, Tom Sievers, Early Wynne, Michael Jordon, Hawk Harrelson....you name 'em they came.
The great place kicker for the Chicago Bears, Bobby Thomas, was a regular. He lived in our county. In fact, we hired his high school son, Bobby Jr., to work for us on the range during the summer seasons.
We talked a lot of politics with them and they were patriotic Americans all, many were Republicans and conservatives.
When he retired from the Bears, Bob Thomas Sr. ran for Du Page County circuit judge as a Republican....later he ascended to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Oh, the fascinating behind-the-scenes sports stories I could tell....those were the days when these guys were the exact opposite of "snowflakes" and "victims".
I would wager that today not one of 'em would ever kneel when the Anthem was played in their various sports arenas, not one.
Leni