Voice of the 'Fan

For the 2nd straight year, and this is likely to become an annual tradition, "Lift Every Voice & Sing" was performed at the Super Bowl, right along with the "Star Spangled Banner" & "America The Beautiful".

Written early in the 20th century, "Lift" is gaining new listeners. Unfortunately, it's also generated plenty of hate from conservatives, including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who whined about it prior the game. Last year, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert complained.

Deal with it, haters. "Lift" is here to stay.

For those of you who don't know the lyrics......:

Full lyrics of "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

Lift every voice and sing,

'Til earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;

Let our rejoicing rise

High as the list'ning skies,

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on 'til victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,

Bitter the chastening rod,

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;

Yet with a steady beat,

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,

We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,

Out from the gloomy past,

'Til now we stand at last

Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,

God of our silent tears,

Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;

Thou who has by Thy might

Led us into the light,

Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,

our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;

Shadowed beneath Thy hand,

May we forever stand,

True to our God,

True to our native land.

For Gaetz, Boebert, and every other politician on the right who professes to be a Christian, this should be something they'd appreciate, but they're butt-hurt about it. Reba McEntire's rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" moved players on both teams, the Chiefs & 49ers, to tears. In time, "Lift" will do the same.

As for the game itself, a rematch of four years ago, Kansas City won in overtime, using the new overtime rules put into effect after the 2021 postseason, and I'm reading that players on both teams are still confused, including Kansas City's Mecole Hardman, who caught the game winning touchdown. After three years, because postseason games rarely go to OT, you'd think they'd have learned all the basics by now. Oh, well. Once again, the Niners took their collective foot off the pedal when they had the Chiefs down at halftime, and it cost them, more so than a torn Achilles tendon, which took Niners DB Dre Greenlaw out of the game early.

It was a great game, and if the haters don't like it, then maybe they can be strapped to chairs and forced to watch Arnold Schwarzenegger as "Agent State Farm" in a constant loop for 2 months....!