I assume they thought they had hired a professional.
Several people have expressed similar opinions, and I have some sympathy for them. But I was reminded of a recent poll in the “Polls only” thread asking when the United States was the most united it’s ever been. As divided as the United States seems to be nowadays, I wondered whether ceremonies like the singing of the national anthem before ballgames serve to help us feel more united, and if that’s a good thing.
ISTM the folderal about kneeling may answer your question.
It had to be decades before I found out that was lip-synced. I never felt the same about it after that.
Wait. What? No. What???
The standard by which a National anthem performance should be judged:
She sang but that’s not what you heard.
That Superbowl is one of the most memorable for me. I watched it in the barracks in Germany. It was still possible that my unit would be sent to Saudi Arabia as reinforcements. The anthem and its accompanying spectacle were memorable. And most importantly my Giants won.
I asked our church’s choir director, who is also a music teacher and a professional musician, what she would do if a protegee of hers did something like that.
She put the blame squarely on Andress’ handlers. She feels the first thing that went wrong was for them to tell her this was her big chance to perform in front of a stadium full of people, and millions watching on TV instead of telling her to relax and just sing the damn song. The second mistake was letting her get drunk right before a performance.
Now there are plenty of singers who can give a passable performance while slightly drunk, but not when they start out wound up and then have to sing something as technically challenging as the Star Spangled Banner, which my choir director informed me, is a song where if you don’t start on the right note, you’re probably not going to get back on track.
I just searched on Ingrid Andress, and there’s apparently no recent news about her. All the results were from a month ago. Just a guess here, but I think she might be in rehab.
Something that just came to mind now: I’m against mindless nativism in any form. I’m against shoehorning flag-waving into activities where it’s really not warranted, and I’m dead-set against forcing children to take any kind of loyalty oath, with or without a bit of anti-Communist paranoia shoehorned in. That said, even if it’s so important to have a needlessly bombastic and overlong rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner before every single baseball-related event, why does it have to be a live rendition? Why not play a recording and be assured of quality every time? I mean, we all know of singers who lip-synced at big sporting events (even the Super Bowl!), so it’s not like this would be anything new.
Considering that she literally said that she was going to rehab a day after the performance, it’s a safe bet.
Two reasons I can think of. The first is that it feels weird to be in a live situation and not having an actual performer (with one exception I’ll mention below). And the other is that the novelty of different performances is what makes it interesting enough to pay attention to. So, if you’re going to have a new recording every time, by a different performer, then why not have that performer actually be there?
The one exception is when it’s a sing-along. And that is one thing they could do. But, as long as it’s something you listen to, I think the current setup is the only one that works.
It’s just weird they didn’t have a backup track to throw in when it became clear she was messing up, not able to muscle up to the pitches or use her head voice.
Why not handling it like in international soccer games and the Olympics, playing only the instrumental tracks of anthems? Players and spectators can sing along, it’s up to them.
I figure the playing/singing of the national anthem before sporting events is part of the ritual or ceremony of the event (like the ceremonial first pitch or the seventh inning stretch), and that it helps the spectators feel more unified and part of something larger than themselves.
I, personally, am fairly individualistic, and not a big fan of ceremony and ritual; but some people find these things valuable, and I can’t say they’re wrong to feel this way. Ceremony and ritual and making people feel part of something larger than themselves can be used for good or ill, but a public performance of the national anthem seems fairly benign to me.
You only hear about the big celebrity renditions. There are literally thousands of pro sporting events every year that feature high school bands, middle-school choirs, local singers determined to sing the very best rendition ever of the anthem, and so on. It’s a community involvement thing for the team and I for one see it as a feature, not a bug.
I could be convinced that you’re are correct, except the ever increase in the creep. Military fly overs, “salute to veterans” at every game, and since 9/11/01, God Bless America every Sunday. If they want to honor America, give away free hot dogs. If they want to honor the military, give service members free tickets.
At Yankee Stadium they often play a recording of the anthem sung by Robert Merrill. Merrill was a member of the Metropolitan Opera and a big Yankee fan. He sang the anthem live enough that they gave him his own uniform. He died 20 years ago. I usually go to a couple of games a year and it’s usually the recorded version. I’ll go out on a limb and say that other stadiums will play recordings as well. For a nationally televised game like the post season or an Allstar game they are going to try to get a professional to sing it live.
Okay, got a much better picture now, thanks. I just think something’s off about making such a big deal about how much the anthem means and then allowing it to turn into a fiasco. But I guess the tradition is just too entrenched at this point to seriously consider changing it.
I’m wondering if MLB requires it, or if each team can make their own decision. Anyone know?
I’d buy a complete set of jerseys from the first team to ditch it.