Flyover Country
We’re all a little testy these days, aren’t we?
What with the election less than two weeks away, Covid-19 still hanging around and Congress bickering instead of passing another stimulus package, everyone seems to be on edge.
To relieve the stress, many of us turn to sports. There’s something exhilarating about football in the fall that lets us escape - however briefly - the present bleakness.
Is it asking too much for sports announcers not to sully the events with their dopey takes on politics?
If you’re an NFL fan you know what’s coming. After Sunday’s game in Tampa between the Bucs and Packers, a video clip was posted on Twitter of Fox Sports announcers Troy Aikman and Joe Buck mocking the pregame flyover by four A-10 jets.
Here, have a listen:
"That's a lot of jet fuel just to do a little flyover,” Aikman says.
"That's your hard-earned money and your tax dollars at work!" Buck replied.
"That stuff ain't happening with (a) Kamala-Biden ticket," Aikman added. "I'll tell you that right now, partner.”
Were these two serious? Probably not. In fact, Sports Illustrated claims the clip wasn’t from a hot mic as was reported, but leaked from someone at a rehearsal prior to the broadcast.
These guys rehearse?
In a series of Tweets, Aikman insisted that he was not anti-military and was just as patriotic as anyone else.
Fine. Whatever.
In the scope of human events - shoot, in the scope of the miserable events of 2020 - this snarky exchange between two sportscasters barely registers.
I only bring it up because it’s not the first time military flyovers have been criticized as a colossal waste of tax dollars.
According to the military, they aren’t.
Pilots are required to get in a specified number of training hours every year and these flyovers count. They’re paid for out of the Pentagon’s training budget. Event organizers who desire a flyover apply to the Department of Defense. If approved, the flyover is essentially put out to bid for flight teams that need the practice time.
While a tight jet formation blasting over a stadium just as the National Anthem ends may seem routine, it’s actually a fine-tuned act of aviation and is supposedly excellent training on instrumentation and communication.
In a memorable piece for The Virginian-Pilot in 2011, reporter Mike Gruss interviewed the Oceana-based Navy commander who led the flyover of Cowboys Stadium for that year’s Super Bowl. He explained how they timed their arrival perfectly to match Christiana Aguilera’s pacing of the National Anthem. As they approached the stadium the team was in radio contact with people on the ground who were ready to alert the pilots if she stumbled and went back over any of the lyrics. It was a great story, read it here.
I love football and there is nothing like standing in a packed football stadium, singing the Star Spangled Banner with tens of thousands of fans when a formation of military jets scream unexpectedly overhead.
It takes your breath away.
Look, pilots can train by buzzing sand dunes in the Nevada desert. Or they can thrill football fans with flyovers.
I know which I prefer.
