View from the Gondola

Oh Say Can You See

The Missouri Mavericks do an amazing job handling the national anthem.  Before most games the Star Spangled Banner is presented by school choirs.  This benefits the Mavericks as it introduces hockey to new fans and benefits the schools as the kids sing in front of 5,800 fans. 

As an announcer I’ve listened to several versions of the anthem.  The Kansas City Attack  scoreboard clock was not stopped before the song.   During the anthem the horn sounded.  In Fort Worth during the Star Spangled Banner I heard a scream like one would hear in a Hitchcock movie.  On both occasions the singers were unrattled.

While with the Attack, Wichita Thunder and Topeka ScareCrows I surprised my wife, Abbie, by arranging for her friend Robin to sing before games.  Abbie didn’t make it to the Thunder game until after the opening faceoff.  Two days before Robin’s performance in Topeka the Crows Assistant GM told me a sponsor would sing instead.  Since most of the Topeka players hailed from north of the 49^th parallel “O Canada” was also sung before their games.  In a span of 48 hours Robin learned the Canadian national anthem and was back in the spotlight.

Former Avila University women’s basketball team guard Nicole Williamson sang the anthem, then turned the microphone in for a basketball and did amazing things on the court.

 While doing PA  for the Hy Vee Shootout tournament I also played music, including the anthem from a CD that included 24 versions of the song.  Fortunately I never realized my fear of mistakenly triggering the Rosanne Barr version.

Can you answer these trivia questions?  1. In the early 70s, on the final day of the season, what was different about the Star Spangled Banner at Chiefs games?   2.  What Kansas City team replaced the anthem with America the Beautiful and why?

Let’s stand and pause at the IEC November 3^rd.