John Rich recently had the students at the University of North Carolina chanting "USA" in a powerful patriotic moment. The country singer put on the Flagstock 2024 to celebrate the college's frat brothers. They went viral for protecting the American flag during a anti-Israel protest.
"My question for you is this: Do you still love America?" Rich asked students in the crowd. They responded by chanting,"USA! USA! USA!"
Rich's manager Marc Oswald said that Rich put on the festival to support patriotism. He wanted to "make sure students and people in general feel it's OK to be patriotic."
Rich's efforts proved fruitful. Several hundred Chapel Hill students turned out for the event. It featured Big & Rich, Lee Greenwood, Aaron Lewis, and John Ondrasik, a.k.a. Five for Fighting. They expressed their appreciation with chants of "USA" as well as wrapping themselves in the American flag.
John Rich Celebrates Patriotism
Matthew Broderick, a senior and a journalism major, told Fox News that the campus was split on the concert.
"There's a lot of people who are in huge favor of this. They love this. And then there's a lot of people who think this is a really bad idea," Broderick said. "I mean, I think some fraternities and sororities have been telling the people ... 'Hey, don't come to this. We think it's a bad look.' And then some have been like, 'Hey, please go to this is. It's a really good look. It's good for our fraternity and our sorority.' ... But I don't think there's a consensus about this."
Rich wanted to honor the frat brothers. He intended to only have a small frat house show. However, they ended up raising $500,000, so plans quickly changed.
Dan Craigg, an attorney working for Pints for Patriots, praised the college frat boys for their patriotism. He said that's worth rewarding.
'What those kids did was honorable and patriotic," Craig told Fox News Digital. "And we want to support that. ... And certainly, we want to create an incentive system where sticking their neck out like that — defending the flag — there's a there's a bonus for that. There's a reward for that."
