People just want a reason to be mad at people they probably disagree with politically. That's what I get from reading this topic.
I'm sure there some people think that sitting, ignoring, not being present or not paying attention during the anthem is disrespectful. And guess what? They are 100% entitled to believe that. And I also think that we have the wonderful freedom in this country to decide whether we do that or not.
Ultimately, it's just a song played as part of the pregame show now. It's so ingrained into sporting events that it's routine.
I remember when Mahmoud Abdul-Raouf started sitting down during the anthem when I was in middle school. It was in the paper for less than a week and that was it.