Notre Dame’s Josh Yago delivered one of the best scenes of Memorial Day before the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse championship even started.
Yago, a graduate transfer from Air Force and a second lieutenant in the U.S. Space Force, stood at attention and saluted during the national anthem before Notre Dame faced Princeton on Monday afternoon in Charlottesville.
It was an awesome moment.
Several videos of Yago posted on social media quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of views. “SportsCenter” posted the full video of Yago standing on the Notre Dame sideline in full Fighting Irish gear, helmet off, with his right hand raised in salute while “The Star-Spangled Banner” played.
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On a normal day, it would’ve been a cool moment.
On Memorial Day? It was perfect.
Yago isn’t just another college athlete who happened to be shown on camera during the anthem. He spent his first four years at Air Force, became one of the best players in program history, graduated from the academy, and then transferred to Notre Dame for his final college lacrosse season.
He’s also preparing to continue serving the country after his lacrosse career.
That made Monday’s anthem moment hit a little differently. A player with a military background, wearing an American flag patch on his jersey, standing at attention on Memorial Day before playing for a national championship.
That’s what most American sports fans want to see.
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There’s been a lot of conversation in recent years about athletes, the national anthem and patriotism. Most of it exhausting and overly political. Some athletes even seem to revel in making themselves the center of attention during the national anthem.
Not Yago, though. He simply wanted to pay respect to his country. And he did it perfectly.
It’s actually sad that an athlete simply being respectful during the playing of the national anthem is something worth talking about. That used to be the bare minimum expectation. Sadly, it sometimes seems less common than disrespectful displays.
USA Lacrosse reported before the championship game that one of Yago’s mentors from Air Force reminded him to “play for those service members” during Memorial Day weekend. Yago also said he wanted to represent his brothers and sisters at Air Force, Space Force and across the military.
Then he went out before the biggest game of his college career and backed it up with a patriotic display that immediately resonated online.
Notre Dame ultimately fell short against Princeton, losing 16-9 as the Tigers captured their first national championship since 2001.
But Yago still gave college lacrosse fans one of the most memorable images of the day before the opening whistle.
A salute during the anthem.
On Memorial Day.
From a Space Force officer.
U-S-A! U-S-A!
