National Pride, Olympic Fandom, and 98.7 WMZQ

Soooo the olympics are on. Oh right right, you knew that already. Aside from the pretty poor live coverage of anything worth watching, and the extreme over-coverage of curling [don't even get me started on curling], there has been some pretty good television on recently. I do have one problem though.

When you tune in, you will undoubtedly see loads of crazy fans, and since NBC has the rights to broadcast you see the fans they want you to see....predominately American. They have a lot of spirit, which is great, but where it's not great is where that spirit and national pride goes the minute the olympic flame gets extinguished. It seems we run into this every 1.5 or 2.5 years depending on which transition from summer to winter games we're at. Everyone gets super pumped up and is all "GO USA USA USA!!!" the facebook wall postings soar to new heights about how big a fan of USA so and so is....and then it all stops. This does not fly well with me.

Why are people only patriotic during the Olympics or on July 4th? Is it a popularity thing, is it just cause they get swept up in the moment? Well what about all the other moments that comprise the rest of the year that aren't so glamourous?? You sure as heck wont find those same people showing their pride during those times, during times of hardship, during times of hurt. True patriots show their pride, and act accordingly day in and day out no matter the circumstance, not just when it's convenient or when in the spotlight. Shame on you fair-weather Americans. It's like the majority of people forget or don't care as soon as something passes, and as mentioned, I have a big problem with that.

Not everyone is like that though. It truly is a breath of fresh air when you find a group, person, or organization who still has their priorities right, yet doesn't seek the limelight when it's convenient for everyone else to do so. They are steady, and constant, and remain true 365 days a year. One of those organizations in my book has got to be the Washington DC area's country music station, WMZQ, and for a couple reasons. One is that everyday at 12:00 noon they pause and salute our troops by playing the 'Star Spangled Banner'. The version and artist vary, but the anthem remains the same. To my knowledge not another radio station in this region does anything like that. Another reason is their respect and acknowledgement of fallen soldiers from overseas. Shoot, even their station logo is patriotic! [And they don't change their logo just for July 4th either, that is their logo every day of the year.]

Yesterday afternoon I was listening waiting to call in to try and win something. Shortly before making the announcement to call in, the afternoon DJ paused and read the names of recently fallen soldiers, paying respect to them and their families. He said "I know all of you listening are waiting for the queue to call in, but I think this is more important" and he played Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless The USA' instead. I couldn't think of a better way to put things into perspective, and the DJ nailed it. So my hat's off to you WMZQ for not ever forgetting and for keeping your heads on straight. Thank you.

When the Olympics end this weekend, I challenge everyone to not let their national pride fade just because the games are done. Your pride will shine brighter when it's not just a fad. I know mine isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and I'm proud of that.