Anthem stands for more than personal freedom

We stood for the national anthem before our little league games. We stood for the national anthem at my first Major League Baseball game in 1978. We stood for the national anthem at high school football games all my life. We stood for the national anthem at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Bryant-Denny, Samford Stadium and other massive venues across the country.

We stood for the national anthem — whether piped through a loudspeaker, sung by a nervous choirgirl or trumpeted by a marching band — because the song itself stood for the core values of American freedom and represented the blood, sweat and tears our forefathers endured to grant us these freedoms.