[fnurt]

This thread wouldn't even exist if any country other than America was involved. You don't hear many accusations of arrogance regarding the Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championships, for example. If I was in some other country and they played their national anthem I wouldn't think anything of it, and I certainly wouldn't feel like my tender American ears were being offended. I would probably think it was pretty cool.

One thing I could explain to my fellow Americans that might shed a little light is that America and Europe have much different standards concerning patriotism and nationalism. In part this is due to some bad stuff from the last century that was attributable to an excess of German nationalism.

You could drive through any neighborhood in the US and you'd see plenty of US flags flying and the like; it's normal. But in Europe, many people consider it crass to show overt nationalism, and waving around a big flag might be considered inappropriate. We would think they are a little weird; they would think we are a little weird. But maybe this explains in part why some of our friends from overseas seem to be taking the playing of a national anthem a little too seriously.