Dear Editor,
I watched in disbelief for a long time after seeing Guyana’s flag appear on T.V. for this year’s halftime NFL show.
Guyana has not contributed to American football and should not have been mentioned during the halftime show. Sunday evening’s halftime performance, featuring Grammy-winner, Bad Bunny, sparked debate and backlash, including from the President of the United States, with which I largely agree.
What was the purpose of parading the Guyana flag on American football soil? This is a mega American sport, played on American soil, built by American culture. Never—and I repeat never—have we seen the American flag paraded at international cricket events, such as the Cricket World Cup, the American flag is never displayed or highlighted in the same way.
This was not Guyana’s doing. It was the poor decision of Bad Bunny and his organizers to feature multiple national flags, including ours, in a space where at least ours had no relevance.
Football in America is like a religion. Sundays revolve around it. Mondays are spent talking about it at work and in schools. Sunday Night Football is a national ritual. Thanksgiving football is tradition. Every week, millions gather to watch, no matter who is playing.
Guyana does not contribute to this sport, this culture, or this tradition. To include our flag in that moment was unnecessary and misplaced. As a Guyanese I did not appreciate it.
Not every global stage needs to borrow identities that do not belong there.