A queen's due

We fought a revolution once to ensure we would never have a throne, a crown, a scepter or any of that other royal hoo-ha. Down with the divine right of kings and queens, you know, and up with presidents who only behave on occasion as if they have some divine right.

And yet, two-and-a-half centuries after the late unpleasantness with England, we still can't quit Buckingham Palace.

This became apparent when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed at Balmoral yesterday at 96, and Americans reacted with almost as much grief as Britons. It reflected not just our continuing fascination with the English royals in general, but respect for both her unprecedented 70-year reign and apparent unfailing grace. 

This included the inhabitants of Sportsball World.

Professional soccer in England was suspended in total this weekend, of course, and so was Scottish rugby. The PGA also canceled play today at the BMW tournament in Surrey, England.

And in America, meanwhile?

Well. There was a moment of silence before the season-opening NFL game between the Bills and the Rams, for starters.

Reggie Jackson sent his condolences. Billie Jean King. The Pro Football Hall of Fame. The University of Maryland. On and on.

The thread connecting them was that they'd all either briefly met or had some fleeting association with the Queen in her long life. She left an impression in those encounters, clearly. And just as clearly it was a good one.

So maybe the best tribute to her is not simply a pro forma nod to her throne, but a heartfelt admiration for the person who sat it for so long.

The Blob discovered this yesterday, when it observed on another social media platform that, even though Americans aren't supposed to care about kings and queens, Elizabeth's death would be the lead item on every news outlet in the country that evening. And would dominate the front page of every American newspaper that hasn't yet been pillaged by hedge fund vandals.

All I meant by that is monarchies are not our thing as a nation. But at least one person clapped back: "Who says we aren't supposed to care as Americans? F that I'll honor and respect that badass woman."

As well that person should.

As should we all, and by all evidence do.