The Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves kick off Tuesday night, giving the fall classic an opportunity to lean into what makes both of those cities special.
One of the most obvious cultural touchstones you can point to is music. That’s what occurred to KPRC 2 reporter Vanessa Richardson in Houston over the weekend when it became clear that an Astros-Braves matchup seemed imminent.
If the World Series ends up being Houston vs Atlanta, Int’l Players Anthem needs to be played before every game.
— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) October 24, 2021
Specifically, she threw out the suggestion that the national anthem should be replaced by “Int’l Players Anthem,” the 2007 song by Houston-based rap duo UGK that features Atlanta-based rapped duo OutKast. Along with being a hip-hop classic, the song’s iconic music video won Music Video of the Year at the 2008 BET awards, cementing its legacy and connection between the two cities.
It’s the kind of fun, harmless tweet that anyone might fire off and presume that everyone will have some fun with it. But then you remember that this is Twitter we’re talking about, where no joke can be allowed to exist without being taken very seriously. And given the fact that a sporting event and the national anthem are involved, well, you know what happened next.
https://twitter.com/KennyWitTheYYK/status/1452317018741518348
A bunch of people thought that the song titled “International Players Anthem” was a national anthem for…yep…international baseball players. And that the reporter was suggesting we honor those “international players” over Americans, we guess? We truly live in the dumbest timeline.
Richardson documented some of the “highlights” in an Instagram compilation video.
View this post on Instagram
A good reminder for all of us to never tweet.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.