If You Love Something, Let it Go, then Re-Capture it

Jim Caple notes on ESPN:

Challenger, the eagle that is described each game as "the Yankees' living symbol of freedom,'' became confused on his traditional flight during the national anthem and overshot his keeper. He flew beyond the pitchers mound, circled home plate and hovered above the players who were lined up along each basepath. Challenger was heading back toward the mound when two F-14s flew over the park (and that's a nice use of tax money, isn't it?), frightening the bird so much that it swooped so low over Derek Jeter that the shortstop dropped to the ground to evade its talons.

Does anybody else think it's a sucky way to honor Liberty to force a captive eagle - Challenger - to fly in from centerfield during the national anthem as a symbol of freedom? How is it emblematic of freedom to have a wild animal enslaved so that the likes of George Steinbrenner are amused?