Dad sings impromptu National Anthem at high school basketball game after sound system fails
It’s hard enough to sing the National Anthem when you are planning on it, but even more impressive to nail it your first time on the fly.
One man did just that at a high school basketball game in Ohio on Friday.
It was just a normal start to the game between the Waverly High Tigers and the Portsmouth West High Senators in West Portsmouth, Ohio. Both teams were lined up and the game announcer directed everyone to stand for the National Anthem, but something went wrong. Instead of music, all you hear is silence during a livestream of the game.
The sound system was experiencing some technical difficulties and after several awkward minutes, a man’s voice begins singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
One of the Waverly parents, Trenton Brown, decided to sing the anthem to get the game going after some encouragement from his wife.
“I looked over at the announcer and the music didn’t play and didn’t play and I looked over and he was getting a little frustrated. My wife gave me a little nudge and said “Sing” and I said, “All right,'” Brown told CNN.
Although Brown said he has been singing and playing music most of his life, he had never performed the National Anthem solo.
“There was a lot of awkward silence … and then I started singing and that was it,” he said.
When he finished, he said he sat down and started his eating popcorn and drinking his Mountain Dew.
The moment was captured on video by Johnny Futhey, whose son plays with Brown’s son on the Waverly High School basketball team. The video quickly took off when Futhey posted it to his Facebook page.
“He brought about everyone in the gym to tears when he saved the day by standing up in the crowd and singing the anthem,” he told CNN.
Futhey said what isn’t audible on his video is when the crowd joined in, creating a beautiful, spontaneous moment.
“When I originally posted I thought it would get some interest but didn’t realize it would be like a million views!” he said.
“I posted it because I was like, the world needs to see this.”
