The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 06:32 PM

North Dakota Farmer Sends NFL Message That Fans Will Stand For The National Anthem

But when he saw professional football players taking a knee during the national anthem to protest "oppression", Gene did what a lot of Americans have done -- he turned off the television set.

"If you want to protest something, do it somewhere else," the retired farmer told me in a telephone interview. "But you don't protest during the national anthem. That's not the place for it."

The images of grown men disrespecting our nation and our military was a bit much for Gene to take.

So he went to the barn, hauled out his old Massey 135 tractor and commenced to send the National Football League a message -- drawn into the dirt of a bean field.

"WE STAND FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM," Gene wrote.

"With all the controversy with the national anthem and with the NFL, I just thought it was time that I send a message," he said. "We've got a lot of service peopel who have served, some who lost their lives."

It was a message about the size of two football fields.

After he finished his masterpiece, Gene hopped in an airplane to take a photo -- and well -- you know how social media works.

Farmer Gene proved you don't need a podcast or a blog to voice your opinion - you just need an old Massey 135 tractor and a steady hand.