I understand that we live in the United States (aka the greatest country in the world), where we have the right to free our opinions whether it'd be through our actions or words. It's one of the things that makes our country so great, we have the opportunity to speak our mind, without getting crap for it.

BUT

One thing that I find myself deranged over is the fact that out of ALL days of the year, there were PROFESSIONAL athletes kneeling during OUR country's National Anthem.

Why did I capitalize those three words?

All- Because out of every day of the year, this past Sunday was September 11th. A known tragedy not only known here in the U.S. but one known throughout the world. On September 11th thousands of lives were lost, innocent lives. On this day fifteen years ago, a terrorist attack occurred just sixty miles of my hometown in the wonderful and well-known, New York City, at one of the most important and also known places, the World Trade Center. This was something we didn't see coming, something that targeted innocent people, something that dramatically changed every single American's life forever. Of those thousands of lives lost, people just like you and me, had lost their parents, friends, siblings, etc. All because they did the one thing they do every day, go to work. Imagine you waking up and going to play football, which is your job, and stepping onto that field to only have a terrorist attack occur at your stadium. All you planned to do that day was your usual practice, just like those thousands of people just planned on going to work, getting through the day they had ahead and go home to their families. Except these people didn't get to do that, many people lost someone important to them, some had lost their father who won't get the chance to walk them down the isle, some had lost their best friend who can't be the godmother to their first born child, and for many, they lost their love of their life. But you Mr. Professional football player, who could honestly pay for my college education just by half your years salary, you'll get to go home and see your family after you throwing a football around all day. The hardest thing you had to do today was run 4, 100-yard sprints. you didn't have to run from a burning fire and watch people jump to their deaths now did you? Didn't think so.

Professional- Congrats you're the top one percent to make it to the professional level for a sport you love and have grown up playing. Really congrats that's a crazy accomplishment, I think my biggest accomplishment was going to college for one that I decided I hated. You're someone that every little athlete dreams of being, a professional one. You got drafted out of college, maybe even high school, while most kids go off to college and graduate to find they can't find a job. But not you Mr. Athlete, you got that few hundred-thousand salary right off the bat. What I'm saying is you're someone's idol, many children, even adults, look up to you, they want to be you. Which is pretty neat, you should feel proud to be that kind of figure. But when you sit or kneel for the National Anthem are you setting that 'professional' outlook that you're supposed to be setting? What you're showing your fans is that the National Anthem isn't a big deal, but tell me sir, have you severed our country? Have you fought overseas, spent months maybe even years away from your family? Have you lost your best friend because our enemy shot at him? No.

Our: This is our country, a country that people all around the world envy the lives that we get to live here in America. This is a country that millions have fought for, they have risked their lives for people like you and me. To me, they're the real idols. When you're kneeling for the National Anthem, you're not only showing disrespect to our country, but to the people who risk their lives every day for you. You have a blessed life, you have fans, you get paid a lot of money to do what you love and you get to go home to your family every night. Our soldiers don't get that luxury, they don't get to go home to their wife and kids every night, they don't get that million dollar salary and when they come home from serving our country, many can't find a job and become homeless. How is that fair? How is it fair that someone so fortunate is disrespecting people who are fighting for you? If our country is so bad like you make it out to be, no one is forcing you to stay, and no one is going to give you sympathy.

To you professional athletes, who don't act like professionals. I hope you lose not only your fans but your endorsements, many may say that's rude of me to say, but I strongly believe it's not. I love our country, I'm proud to be an American and I'm proud to have had family members who risked their lives for you and me. I'm proud of the people that served in earlier wars because without them, we wouldn't have had the luxuries and freedom that we have today.

I hope when you open Sunday mornings paper and that soldier from your hometown is on the front page because he died this past weekend overseas. I hope the guilt sits in, I hope you realize how blessed you are and how the National Anthem may be just a song, but it's a song that represents our freedoms, the people who gave us that freedom and the best damn country in the world.