| Bush compares troops america to nfl { September 4 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3391367http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3391367
Pop Stars, Rain Kick Off NFL Season Thu September 04, 2003 09:17 PM ET
By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bubblegum diva Britney Spears kicked off the National Football League's 2003 season on Thursday with a glitzy, muddy concert on Washington's National Mall.
Sporting a skimpy black-and-white referee's uniform, the teen idol debuted her new song "Me Against the Music" as fireworks framed the U.S. Capitol and football jersey-wearing dancers prowled the stage.
The megawatt event drew hundreds of thousands to the National Mall, the two-mile-long grassy strip that usually plays host to political rallies, tourists and picnickers.
Wrinkled rock warriors Aerosmith, soul belter Mary J. Blige and punk rockers Good Charlotte also entertained the hundreds of thousands of fans who braved traffic jams and occasional rain to be part of the spectacle.
Soul legend Aretha Franklin sang the national anthem shortly before the Washington Redskins and the New York Jets kicked off in nearby Landover, Maryland.
The event was billed as a patriotic salute to U.S. fighting forces, and white-capped sailors and camouflage-wearing soldiers mingled in the crowd.
President Bush, in a television message broadcast after the concert, said football epitomized teamwork, sacrifice and determination, values that he said reflected the spirit of the nation.
"It's the spirit ... that guides the brave men and women of our nation's armed forces fighting in the name of peace and freedom around the world," Bush said.
But some questioned whether the "nation's front lawn," which hosted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" civil rights speech 40 years ago, should be used as the setting for a promotional event festooned with corporate logos.
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