She's a Grand Old Flag I can't wait until the Fourth of July. This is the day where Americans can not only celebrate the nation's birth, but the day when real Americans can celebrate being American.   We can celebrate by singing patriotic songs. We can celebrate by wearing patriotic clothes draped in bold and blaring RED, WHITE, and BLUE.   We can celebrate by having a day where we don't have to worry about irrelevant popularity polls in Europe, don't have to worry about drawing attention to ourselves as Americans, don't have to worry about what others think.   It is hard to believe that one year ago I was about to embark on a lifelong dream of representing my beloved country at the Olympic Games as Team Captain of the United States Fencing Team. After a thirty-two year journey to follow in my father Dan's footsteps, I had finally made it.   The Olympics, no matter how tainted by professionalism, drug abuse, cheating or whatever, still is the event that epitomizes national pride. Or so I thought.   And then I was awakened by a call from WRKO radio in Boston on Monday morning, May 17th, 2004. I was told that Mike Moran, a spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee in charge of "athlete behavior," had been quoted as saying that American athletes "shouldn't celebrate with the flag, shouldn't take the flag on a victory lap, and should try to change our culture for those seventeen days."   I was barely awake, but already aghast. While not PC when I'm wide awake, I'm definitely not PC when jolted out of sleep with such idiotic comments.   I replied that our job as American Olympians was to compete with honor and dignity and not to worry about what anyone else thinks. We're the good guys, not the bad guys; and if we change to appease others, we're basically giving in to the bad guys.   Furthermore, I said, if we marched into the Opening Ceremonies in Athens and threw $100 bills out to the audience, the people who hated us would still hate us.   Our only job is to do what we think is right, not what anyone else thinks is right.   In my moment of disgust at Moran's comments, I told the guys at WRKO what I would do. My Mother Alice, who is a Holocaust survivor, once brought me a flag to display on Memorial Day and Fourth of July. (Isn't it ironic that those who came from other countries truly appreciate what it means to love our country?)   I said that my Mom's flag would be the first item I packed for Athens and if we won a medal, it would damn well go on a victory lap.   Well, on the surface, while my feelings were genuine, that was a little false bravado, as the United States hadn't won an Olympic fencing medal since 1984.   Amazingly, exactly three months later, on August 17th, Mariel Zagunis of Portland, Oregon did the impossible when she won the gold medal in the women's saber event. After initially being denied entry to the main floor by the Greek security guards, I was able to lead the team to the fencing strip. I handed her the flag my Mom had given me and the team threw Mariel into the air three times, as is the fencing custom.   She then took that Grand Old Flag on a victory lap and that photo graced thousands of newspapers around the world.   She was beautiful. The moment was beautiful. And, best of all, that flag was beautiful.   Finally… a moment where we could be Americans. No more hiding, no more pretending, no more blending in, no more political correctness, no more worries about what anyone else thinks!   That day will never happen again, but the next best thing for patriotic Americans takes place once every year. And, that's the day when Americans who 'get it', as my Mom does, can celebrate, as opposed to berate, our great country.   Take the advice of my Mom on Fourth of July and fly that flag. And take that Grand Old Flag on a victory lap as you celebrate being a proud American!   God Bless America!