The Star-Spangled Banner

The Star-Spangled Banner is performed during the Clarendon homecoming pep rally, where its place between the Pledge of Allegiance and the crowd’s football chants connects civic ceremony to the community’s shared support for its team.

Appearance at the Pep Rally

At the rally, the cheerleaders lead the crowd through the Pledge of Allegiance, after which the band plays The Star-Spangled Banner. The program then turns almost immediately to chants urging the team to win its game against the Gruver Greyhounds. The anthem is thus one element in a sequence that moves from formal civic observance to local athletic allegiance.

Civic and Athletic Ritual

The performance takes place in a crowded gym, amid the band, cheerleaders, players, and community supporters gathered for homecoming. Rather than appearing in isolation, the anthem belongs to a public ceremony in which the school and town express collective attachment through both national ritual and football enthusiasm. Its position in the rally makes that transition visible without separating civic identity from local tradition.