My Flag Is Bigger Than Yours

The New York Times gets into the debate today: Does a bigger flag mean you're more patriotic?

Seriously. It must pain the editors there to even have to discuss something like this.

“It is an American phenomenon, no doubt about it,” said Frank Supovitz, the N.F.L.’s senior vice president for events, who oversees such spectacles as the Super Bowl and has helped stage events around the world.

A small industry has formed to supply the flags, usually at a cost of a few thousand dollars an appearance. Some colleges and bowl games, tired of renting them frequently, have bought their own field-sized flags.

“People are getting more on the bandwagon,” said Doug Green, who has long rented giant flags to teams and leagues, and recently supplied one for the Indianapolis 500. “Nascar’s doing it more and more, the N.F.L. is doing it more and more.”

The trend began nearly 25 years ago, spiked after 9/11 and now seems simply part of the cultural backdrop in American sports. Where there is a big game, there is a big flag, often the size of the playing field itself.

Far too big for a pole, the flags raise something else — the question of whether a bigger flag is a more patriotic one, or just a bigger one.