As a professional sports watcher, I've often wondered how many times I've heard the Star Spangled Banner. Could be 10,000 by now. This just in: It's time for change. And the time is now.

And so today's modest proposal is to begin the crusade to adopt "God Bless America" as the new national anthem.

Why this particular bee in the old bonnet, you ask? Thank the New Horizons Band of Southeastern Connecticut. (Trumpeter: The Day's Vickie Fulkerson). They played at the Groton Senior Center on Thursday. They were terrific. And they ended the program with "God Bless America."

Director Bob Clowes prefaced the song to the audience by saying that some people think God Bless America should become our new anthem.

Upon further review, I am "some people."

For one thing, the Kate Smith version is shorter than the Star Spangled Banner. It takes Kate about 45 seconds. The Star Spangled Banner, even when not turned into a ballad, is a good minute and a half. (Only former Fenway organist John Kiley came in under a minute, bless his heart).

Think about that. If I've heard the current anthem 10,000 times at a minute and a half, I've spent 15,000 minutes listening to that song. That's 10.42 days of my life. God Bless America, half that long, would have already given me five days back.

Then there's interpretation. Oy. Poor Francis Scott Key. Bad enough he wrote the Star Spangled Banner under duress. Now he's got tone deaf balladeers from Worcester to Walla Walla ruining his work. (Just go to a Connecticut Sun game).

God Bless America is easier to remember and less likely to be shredded. Plus, there's always the default mechanism: Just let Kate sing. A good organist might do it in 30 seconds. And we're all into speeding up games, right?

The best God Bless America story came in in the early 2000s when the Yankees were trailing Minnesota in the middle of the seventh. Ronan Tynan sang the lengthier version, making for a longer seventh inning stretch. The Yankees scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, after which Twins pitcher Brad Radke blamed Tynan for icing him. (True story).

And isn't God Bless America a happier song? God Bless America. (Noble sentiment). Land that I love. (Who doesn't?) Stand beside her. And guide her. (Using "her" appeases the feminists). Through the night with a light from above. (Good use of rhyming). From the mountains. (Peaceful). To the prairies. (Think Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom). To the oceans. White with foam. (Summer on the beach with an umbrella-sticking-out drink). God Bless America. My home sweet home. (What's more comforting than home?)

Instead, we get "ramparts" in the Star Spangled Banner. Who uses "rampart" in casual conversation?

Biff: Did you see those ramparts last night?

Sam: You mean at the twilight's last gleaming?

Ridiculous.

The problem here: The government probably doesn't have a National Anthem Division of the cabinet. Whom do we petition? It wouldn't be a difficult sell job. We might not even need a lobbyist. God Bless America fulfills the working definition of everything now we want in life: shorter and easier. And sorry, but if it's Kate Smith vs. Whitney Houston, it's not a fair fight.

Now I get that the humorless wing of America — a growing legion — thinks any patriotic song before a sporting event amounts to jingoism. Note to all of you: Leave your feelings in the suggestion box and then get lost. Without a free society, and thanks to the people who risk theirs to save ours, we don't have the luxury of going to ballgames. So there.

Who's with me? Leave your comments below. Nothing against Francis Scott Key or his song. But it's a little tedious, esoteric and outdated. It's time for God Bless America.

Land that I love.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro. Twitter: @BCgenius.