In the wake of 9/11, the late country star Toby Keith penned the lyrics to “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” on the back of a Fantasy Football sheet. It’s a supremely American origin story for a quintessential patriotic hit. Although the tune was not without controversy, it quickly rose to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot Country 100 chart. Many Americans see “Courtesy” as a staple of celebrating patriotic holidays like the Fourth of July and Memorial Day. And what’s more patriotic than the U.S. Naval Academy women’s lacrosse getting together for a locker room Toby Keith karaoke session?
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Watch The Midshipmen Belt Toby Keith Classic In the Locker Room
Earlier this month (May 3), the Navy women’s lacrosse team’s official Instagram account posted a video of its players getting amped up with a locker room karaoke session. The song of choice? Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”
The women’s voices mingle with Keith’s as the video shows highlights of Navy’s May 2 game against Holy Cross. The Midshipmen beat the Crusaders 19-5 in the Patriot League semifinal.
On Memorial Day (Monday, May 27), “Ohio’s Tate” of Barstool Sports re-posted the video to his X/Twitter account. The sports blogger wrote that the team’s rendition “has me ready to run through a brick wall and/or drink a million beers.”
Clearly, many social media users agreed. “Put this in my veins,” one X/Twitter user wrote. “Thank you for sharing.”
Another user wrote, “Army family but this is awesome!”
On the team’s Instagram post, one user simply wrote, “Toby Keith is smiling.”
Late Country Star Reaches Posthumous Milestones
Keith died in February at age 62 following a two-year battle with stomach cancer. Since the news broke, the “Red Solo Cup” singer’s fans have begun consuming his music even more voraciously. According to Forbes, 35 Biggest Hits, Keith’s 2008 compilation, is still going strong on the Billboard 200. As of Monday (May 27), it has ranked among the chart’s top 200 songs for 150 weeks—a milestone the two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year never reached during his lifetime.
[RELATED: Toby Keith Hits New Career Milestone After Death as Country Legend’s Legacy Lives On]
The compilation was already Keith’s longest-charting work on the Billboard 200, Forbes reported. Two more of his projects have also reached triple-digit weeks on the chart. The 2004 compilation Greatest Hits 2 managed 106 frames, while Keith’s 2002 hit Unleashed reached 104 frames—or exactly two years.
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