The NFL’s 2024 season opener between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys was supposed to be a showcase of football at its best. Instead, it opened with yet another round of unnecessary woke theatrics that backfired spectacularly.

Before kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field, fans were subjected to “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song activists insist on calling the “Black National Anthem.” The move, long championed by NFL leadership since the George Floyd riots of 2020, has been a constant source of division among fans who simply want to watch football without being lectured on identity politics.

As Philadelphia-based singer Laurin Talese began performing, things quickly went sideways. The stadium’s audio system malfunctioned, leaving much of the crowd unable to even hear the performance. For the unlucky sections that could, the reaction wasn’t reverence—it was indifference, punctuated by waves of boos.

In stark contrast to the reverent silence and respect shown whenever *The Star-Spangled Banner* plays, the response to the so-called “Black National Anthem” was telling. Fans ignored it, chatted over it, or openly jeered. The message from the Philadelphia crowd was clear: Americans already have one national anthem, and attempts to replace or dilute it aren’t welcome.

Sports commentator Jon Root summed it up bluntly: “The ‘Black National Anthem’ has no business being sung at NFL, or any other games, but at least the audio was so bad you could barely hear it.”

Other voices online echoed what millions of fans across the country have long been saying: stop politicizing football. One observer posted, “JUST IN 🚨: Did anyone notice the Eagles crowd completely ignored the Black National Anthem? No one paid attention. 😂😂😂” Another noted simply, “Philly fans are booing the lady singing the black national anthem.”

Predictably, left-wing accounts online rushed to scold the Philly crowd for daring to push back against the NFL’s woke pageantry. One fumed, “Big surprise, Philadelphia fans don’t give a f\*\*\* about or respect the ‘Black National Anthem’. Philly, keepin’ it classy as always.” But if anything, the boos proved that average Americans are tired of being force-fed symbolic politics in spaces that should unite, not divide.

The NFL’s decision to continue with the “Black National Anthem” alongside slogans like “End Racism” painted in end zones reflects a league leadership more interested in virtue-signaling than respecting its audience. Fans have been crystal clear since 2020: they tune in to watch touchdowns, not lectures. Yet commissioner Roger Goodell and company seem determined to keep rubbing salt in the wound.

Thursday night’s season opener could have been a moment to highlight the greatness of American football. Instead, it reminded everyone that the NFL is still trapped in a failed experiment of performative wokeness. Philadelphia fans, never known for holding back, sent a loud message on behalf of millions of viewers across the country: keep politics out of our games.

The boos in Philly may not have been pretty—but they were patriotic.