Red, White, and Blah

July 3rd, 1776 was a big day in American history. It had to be, otherwise the city of Columbus wouldn't have a huge celebration that day. Red, White, and Boom, the annual celebration on the river followed by the big fireworks display, is done to celebrate...Thomas Jefferson crossing the last t and dotting the last i? It's an interesting choice of days, but that's only the beginning of my griping...

I enjoy a good fireworks show as much as the next person, and Red, White, and Boom is a pretty big fireworks show. The music is usually done well with the fireworks, and the TV production is pretty good. The addition of high def this year made the TV version even better...even more reason to not fight the million or so people clogging downtown Columbus. But, even watching from home, the July 3rd extravaganza still comes up a bit short of the patriotic celebration its supposed to be.

Though I'm as big of an Ohio State fan as there is, I've yet to figure out what the Across the Field has to do with the 4th, er 3rd of July. The assumption that no celebration can take place in this city without including THE Ohio State University seems a bit short sighted. If there's a large crowd gathered, the fight song must be played? I'm all for it if that large crowd is seated at Ohio Stadium, but celebrating the day before the Nation's birthday doesn't seem like the best place for it.

While we're on music, possibly my biggest gripe is the choice of finale music. It should be a constitutional amendment that all July 4th (3rd) celebrations should be required to close with either Stars and Stripes Forever or the 1812 Overture. It's the 4th of July. It's the birthday of the US of A...you should go home humming the Stars and Stripes Forever, not some random song selected by the good folks that also run The Morning Zoo.

Lastly, I realize we're in the age of sponsorships everywhere. But, did we need to pause the music and fireworks to announce that the grand finale was up next and it was brought to you by Ashland? Who announces the grand finale? I'm glad it was sponsored, and I'm glad Ashland got their name out there, but it seemed like the ultimate interruption. In most fireworks shows you build up to the grand finale, and the sense of anticipation of, "Is this the start of the finale?" is part of the fun of the whole show. Not this year, no anticipation...slight pause and then: "COMING UP NEXT, THE GRAND FINALE! PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE OF COLUMBUS, DON'T MISS IT. IT'S BROUGHT TO YOU BY ASHLAND CHEMICAL. GRAND FINALE IS UP NOW!!"

So, in the spirit of Red, White, and Boom, I'm announcing the end of this blog entry...