https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQkY2UFBUb4 The NFL continues to wrangle with its issue of players taking a knee during the national anthem, but this isn't the first time The Star Spangled Banner has collided with politics, race and a major sporting event. In 1968, a rising Puerto Rican pop star, José Feliciano, was asked to sing the anthem before Game 5 of the World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals were playing the Detroit Tigers in Tiger Stadium. At that time, Feliciano's had a hit single with his cover of The Doors' Light My Fire . The world seemed to be changing very quickly; there was a lot of focus on what media was calling the Youth Movement. It was a good time to showcase new talent. A Star-Mangled Banner? Vintage tape shows a young guy in sunglasses (Feliciano was born blind) seated on a stool, playing his acoustic guitar. Back then, the anthem was generally performed by popular musicians of stage and screen, or talented first-responders and members of the military, always in a
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