photo by Patrick Parton
292 N. Haywood Street
Waynesville, NC 28786
828.452.2133
3
forbiddencolortattoo.tattoo.com
photo by Mikell Clark Webb
12
“As always, the pregame activities completely
consumed the sometimes frantic press box
as we tried diligently to react to all the items
bombarding us.
One of those pregame festivities was the
presentation of a huge flag being flown in
and brought to the field by a parachuter.
My son Joe, who also helps in the press box
now, was given the task of remaining on the
phone with the parachuting team and, at
the right time, to let me know to start playing God Bless the USA
by Lee Greenwood through the stadium PA system, as the final
descent concluded. The press box and crowd were very loud, and
it was difficult to keep up with what was going 0n.
Suddenly, I heard Joe screaming at me to play it, as I missed his
first few requests with all the noise and distraction. Then I had
difficulty playing the song so it did not play exactly when
requested.
The delay, however, turned out to be perfect. As the flag and
parachuter were making the final descent and touching ground,
the song kicked into the
climactic ending chorus
and, for an instant, the
press box was silent and
somewhat
motionless while I
watched the flag as it
slowly blocked out significant
portions of the black
and gold ocean on the
other side.
One could feel the
energy and reverence of
the entire stadium as the
American Flag consumed
the view of all present. As
soon as that happened,
I knew we had pulled the “show” off. For a brief period of time,
white, blue, red, black and gold, before the bitter contest on the
field began, were one in Haywood County, North Carolina.
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