Technical difficulties at the final home game of the season for the Chopitcon High School boy’s lacrosse team provided a perfect opportunity for departing seniors to leave a lasting impression.

“We had 14 seniors and it was quite emotional for them all to be playing their last home game,” Tera Gregory told Fox 5.

The team lined up for the National Anthem before the “Seniors Night” game on May 4, but the speakers failed.

“Instead of playing the game without hearing the National Anthem first, the boys stepped up and sang it themselves,” according to the news site. “The Braves received some backup vocal help from the crowd as many joined in to help them sing the National Anthem.”

Several folks who commented about the incident online did not seem surprised.

“I’d have no other expectation out of a school with so much pride to be who they are,” Joey Gannon posted. “Great job Chopticon!”

“Chopticon … the true Home of the Brave,” Bobby Bagley wrote. “Job well done by players from an outstanding student body!”

Others joked about the students’ off-key singing, but applauded them nonetheless.

“Thank goodness they play lacrosse because I don’t think they have a career in music, lol but God Bless their love of country,” Teena Mountz wrote.

“This is amazing, who cares if they can’t sing, they were so good to do this for everyone else,” Lorrie Fenwick added. “Way to go, looks like CHS!”

Singing the National Anthem at sporting events has become a point of culture war contention since 49er’s QB Colin Kaepernick took a knee during NFL games in support of Black Lives Matter. Here students are acting against the example of celebrity role models. This pattern is in keeping with what researchers at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture found in their study, The Content of their Character. Rural public high schools place a high value on military service. Chopticon High School serves the northern portion of St. Mary’s County, Maryland, rural communities with a recent rise in suburban development.

Several folks wrote about similar incidents of St. Mary’s County students stepping up to sing the National Anthem at sporting events over the years.

And in Nashville this March, about 2,000 students attending an ‘Equine Education Day’ put on their own “amazing display of youthful pride” in the USA after a snafu during the opening ceremonies, Fox 17 reports.

The students – from kindergarten through eighth grade – voluntarily sang the National Anthem loud and proud when the microphone cut out on the singer mid performance, event organizer Jerry Harris said, and it was a moving experience.

“Especially when you see some kids disrespecting the flag,” he said, “it was just something special to witness, those kids.”

Teachers and principals working to strengthen moral and citizenship formation in their students can find teacher lesson plans at The UK’s The Jubilee Centre.