You've seen it. Every February, right before the coin toss, a performer stands near the 50-yard line. While a pop star belts out high notes that most of us can't hit in the shower, another artist is doing something entirely different. They aren't just "hand-signing" the lyrics. They are translating the American Sign Language Star Spangled Banner into a visual masterpiece that often carries more emotional weight than the vocal track.
It’s powerful. It’s fast.
Honestly, most hearing people think it’s just a word-for-word translation. It’s not. Not even close. If you tried to sign the national anthem word-for-word using Signed Exact English (SEE), it would look stiff and probably wouldn't make much sense to a native Deaf signer. ASL is its own language with its own grammar, and when it meets the "Star Spangled Banner," something magical happens. It becomes a cinematic experience.
The Viral Shift: From Afterthought to Center Stage
For a long time, the ASL performer was lucky to get two seconds of screen time. You’d see a tiny "picture-in-picture" bubble in the corner of the TV, or worse, the camera would just cut away to a crying quarterback. That changed.
Recently, performers like Justina Miles and Daniel Durant have turned the American Sign Language Star Spangled Banner into a viral moment. Remember Justina Miles at Super Bowl LVII? She didn't just sign; she performed with an energy that matched Rihanna’s halftime show and Chris Stapleton’s anthem combined. She was rhythmic. She was expressive. She showed the world that ASL isn't a secondary accessory—it's the main event.
People finally realized that the anthem is about "the rockets' red glare" and "bombs bursting in air." In ASL, you don't just say those words. You see them. The performer’s hands move to show the trajectory of the rockets. Their facial expressions convey the tension of the battle. It's basically a 3D movie happening in front of your eyes.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Cast of Hold Your Breath 2024 Makes This Dust Bowl Horror Actually Work
How ASL Translation Actually Works (It’s Not Just Hands)
If you think ASL is just about hand shapes, you’re missing 50% of the conversation. It’s about the "non-manual markers." That’s a fancy way of saying facial expressions and body shifts.
When an artist performs the American Sign Language Star Spangled Banner, they have to make choices.
- How do you sign "land of the free"?
- Do you focus on the concept of liberty?
- Do you show the physical expanse of the country?
The NAD (National Association of the Deaf) works closely with the NFL and other organizations to ensure these performances aren't just accurate, but artistic. They often choose performers who are "Deaf influencers" or established actors in the community. These aren't random interpreters; they are specialists.
The Controversy You Didn't Know About
Not everything is perfect. There’s a bit of a rift sometimes. Some people in the Deaf community feel like the TV networks still treat the ASL anthem as a box-ticking exercise.
Even though we see more of it now, the full performance is often only available on a secondary stream or a specific YouTube link. If you’re watching the main broadcast, you might still only see the signer for a few fleeting moments. This is a huge point of contention. If the American Sign Language Star Spangled Banner is a performance of the national anthem, why isn't it treated with the same respect as the vocal performance?
🔗 Read more: Is Steven Weber Leaving Chicago Med? What Really Happened With Dean Archer
Then there’s the "Coda" vs. "Deaf" debate. A Coda is a Child of Deaf Adults. They are often hearing but grow up with ASL as their first language. Sometimes Codas get the gig, and while they are fluent, some activists argue that these platforms should be reserved exclusively for Deaf performers to ensure authentic representation. It's a nuanced conversation that most hearing viewers never even consider.
Famous Faces and Big Moments
We have to talk about the legends.
- Marlee Matlin: She’s the GOAT. She’s performed the anthem at the Super Bowl multiple times and has been a tireless advocate for getting more screen time for signers.
- Daniel Durant: His 2024 performance was lauded for its clarity and the sheer "American-ness" of his delivery.
- Christine Sun Kim: An acclaimed sound artist who used her 2020 performance to highlight the musicality of ASL.
Kim’s approach is fascinating. She treats ASL as a visual form of music. When the singer holds a long note on "brave," the ASL performer doesn't just hold their hands still. They might use a slow, vibrating movement to mimic the resonance of the human voice. It’s literal art.
The Technical Difficulty of "The Star Spangled Banner"
The song itself is a nightmare to sing—we all know that. It has a massive range. But it’s also a nightmare to sign. The lyrics are archaic. "O'er the ramparts we watched" isn't exactly how we talk in 2026.
To translate this, the performer has to be a bit of a historian. They have to understand what a "rampart" is and how to represent that visually so a Deaf child watching at home actually understands the story being told. They aren't just translating words; they are translating 18th-century poetry into a modern, visual language.
💡 You might also like: Is Heroes and Villains Legit? What You Need to Know Before Buying
It takes months of practice. They work with coaches. They study the vocal artist’s specific arrangement. If the singer goes slow and soulful, the signer has to be slow and soulful. If it’s a fast, pop-rock version, the signs have to be sharper and quicker.
Why It Matters for Accessibility
At the end of the day, it's about inclusion. But "inclusion" is a boring word for something so visceral.
When a Deaf kid sees the American Sign Language Star Spangled Banner on the biggest stage in the world, they see their language being treated as beautiful. They see that their way of communicating isn't a "disability tool"—it's a medium for art. It’s about national identity. The anthem belongs to everyone, and for the Deaf community, that ownership is expressed through the hands.
Practical Steps to Appreciate the ASL Anthem
If you want to actually "see" the anthem next time, don't just wait for the TV broadcast to show a five-second clip.
- Find the dedicated stream: Usually, the NFL or the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) will host a "side-by-side" video on their social media pages. Watch that instead of the main broadcast.
- Watch the facial expressions: Stop looking only at the hands. Look at the eyes and the mouth of the performer. That’s where the "volume" of the sign is located.
- Learn the basic signs: You don't have to be fluent. Just learning the sign for "America" or "Brave" can give you a much deeper connection to what's happening on screen.
- Support Deaf artists year-round: The ASL anthem is great, but there’s a whole world of ASL poetry and theater out there. Check out the National Theatre of the Deaf or local Deaf-led productions.
The next time the game is about to start and you're reaching for the chips, stay focused on the screen. The person signing the American Sign Language Star Spangled Banner is giving a masterclass in linguistics and performance art. It’s high-stakes, high-emotion, and honestly, usually more interesting than the halftime show.
To truly understand the impact, look up the 2023 performance by Justina Miles. Watch it without the sound. You’ll find that you can still feel the "rockets' red glare" just by watching the intensity of her movement. That is the power of a language that doesn't need a single sound to be heard.
Moving forward, expect the push for "Picture-in-Picture" (PiP) to get louder. Advocacy groups are demanding that networks provide a permanent, un-cut view of the ASL performer throughout the entire song. Supporting these initiatives by tagging networks on social media during live events is a direct way to help ensure that "inclusion" isn't just a buzzword, but a broadcast standard.