Flattening patriotism

"With a large American flag covering the field, UCLA fans cheer as the National Anthem is played during the Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Thursday."

Loh, Stefanie. "National University becomes Holiday Bowl's title sponsor." U-T San Diego. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Oct/07/national-university-holiday-bowl-announcement/

"US Marines hold an American flag at the Holiday Bowl National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football game in San Diego."

Powell, Jim. "The Observer's 20 photographs of the week." The Guardian. January 4, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/gallery/2014/jan/04/observer-photography-petr-cech-rafael-nadal#/?picture=426248215&index=2

I can't say I understand why uniformed U.S. Marines would be at a National Collegiate Athletic Association ("or, NAMBLA") football game for any reason, but for uniformed U.S. Marines to decorate and festoon a corporate-owned football field by carrying the flag flat...?

4 USC 8 (c) "The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free."

4 USC § 8 (d) "It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker’s desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general."

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/8

"In general, the national flag should [sic?] be displayed flat."

U.S. Marine Corps. Flag Manual. 5. http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/MCO%20P10520.3B.pdf

Perhaps the U.S. Marine Corps Flag Manual should be revised to indicate the flag "should never be carried flat" (as stated in the U.S. Flag Code), rather than indicating that it generally "should be displayed flat"? ("Flat" there seems to be used in a different sense; if the flag is displayed with the hoist horizontally rather than vertically, then the width of the flag should be allowed to fall free below the hoist, without being gathered in a way that the flag is festooned, drawn back, drawn up, or in folds. At the Qualcomm Stadium, the flag was held with the hoist and width at the same level, with the flag festooned between every column of Marines carrying it over their heads.)

At the Holiday Bowl, balls were caught and thrown by Texas Tech and Arizona State in a game based on one played by English schoolboys.

"To fill empty seats, the Holiday Bowl in San Diego tried a new strategy, offering $80 seats for $40 through an online discounter.

"It's a good deal for fans, but not for the two college football teams in Monday's game: Texas Tech and Arizona State. Both schools and their respective conferences are required by contract to buy 10,400 full-price tickets at $70 to $90 each. If they can't find enough buyers, they're stuck with the full-price cost anyway."

Schrotenboer, Brent. "When bowl tickets go on Groupon, colleges pay the price." USA Today. January 4, 2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/12/29/bowl-ticket-discounters/4242757/

The colleges have to pay between $728,000 and $936,000 for tickets to their own game, and then have to swallow the cost if they can't manage to resell the tickets to others? Does that come out of tuition money or taxpayer money? Aside from the high expense of college athletics and its typically parasitic relationship with college academics, aside from the brain damage and other chronic injuries caused by football, there's also the problem of "the ever-present football player rapist."

Taylor, John. "Texas WR Cayleb Jones charged with felony assault." College Football Talk. March 12, 2013. http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/12/texas-wr-cayleb-jones-charged-with-felony-assault/

Gleeson, Scott. "Two Texas A&M football players accused of assault." USA Today. July 2, 2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/07/01/two-texas-am-football-players-deshazor-everett-floyd-raven-sr-accused-of-assault/2480059/

"Arizona State football player accused of sexual assault, is kicked off team after arrest." StarTribune. June 11, 2013. http://www.startribune.com/nation/211125491.html

McGuire, Kevin. "Report: Arizona State football staffer charged for aggravated assault." College Football Talk. September 5, 2013. http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/05/report-arizona-state-football-staffer-charged-for-aggravated-assault/

Meanwhile, sexual assault in the military remains such an endemic crime that on the front page of the Marines' website they need to have posted their Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Safe Helpline. I wouldn't suggest the remove the helpline from the front page, of course. Eradicating sexual assault in the military (and in athletics, and everywhere else), however, is a must - and not through suppressing crime statistics or by intimidating or threatening victims or witnesses.

"A Nation of Laws"? Perhaps, but not a nation of equally enforced laws at present.