Cornelison is a regular at Chicago sporting events. He’s been the Bears’ national anthem singer since 2010. He has been singing the national anthem before every Chicago Blackhawks home game since 2008. Cornelison has even sung "Back Home Again in Indiana" (one of my favorites) before the Indianapolis 500 since 2017.
It was a great moment for Chicago, even though the Bears' magical season finally came to an end with a disappointing loss to the Rams. I was truly reminded of another magical moment - when legendary recording artist Whitney Houston sang the national anthem before Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991, just 10 days after the start of the Persian Gulf War (codenamed Operation Desert Storm). Houston's performance is considered one of the greatest renditions of the U.S. national anthem of all time.
As I shared in a post from December, 2019 (which I will repeat, in part, here today), the "Star Spangled Banner" is notoriously difficult to sing. The humorist Richard Armour once quipped:
In an attempt to take Baltimore, the British attacked Fort McHenry, which protected the harbor. Bombs were soon bursting in air, rockets were glaring, and all in all it was a moment of great historical interest. During the bombardment, a young lawyer named Francis Off Key [sic] wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner", and when, by the dawn's early light, the British heard it sung, they fled in terror.
Not everyone has Cornelison's operatic voice or Whitney Houston's five octave vocal range - not even close! As a matter of record, there are several well-known disastrous performances of the national anthem (for example, see Billboard's top 10 worst performances of all time, as of 2024, here). Both professional and amateur singers struggle with the song's vocal range and have been known to forget the lyrics.
Take a look at this video of a woman who starts to sing the national anthem before an NHL hockey game. She appears to forget the words, abruptly stops and turns around to go back and grab a lyric sheet, and returns a few seconds later. While walking back onto the ice, she slips and falls, as the audience cheers and jeers in the background. Now ask yourself, what would you have done if you had been there? Would you have jeered or even booed at the woman? Admittedly, I can totally see myself reacting in that fashion in a similar circumstance. And I am not proud to admit that.
Now, check out this video of a similar circumstance. In this case, a young singer was invited to sing the national anthem before an NBA basketball game between the Portland Trailblazers and Oklahoma City Thunder on April 25, 2003. The singer was a 13 year-old 8th grade student who had been selected by the fans in a promotional contest. As luck would have it, she woke up that morning with a case of the flu and felt awful as she walked out in front of 20,000 plus fans.
The young girl started singing, but when she got to the phrase, "What so proudly we hailed," she stumbled over the words. She stopped - complete mind block. She started looking around for her father for help. At first, the audience tried to encourage her to continue, but the longer her uncomfortable pause lasted, some of the cheers turn to jeers. Suddenly, one of the Oklahoma City assistant coaches, Hall of Fame basketball player Maurice "Mo" Cheeks, walks up behind the girl, put his arm around her, and started singing with her. He coached her through the next few words of the song (and if you pay close attention to the video, he actually gets some of the words wrong too!). The audience's jeers and boos turn to cheers, as they collectively finish the song together. The girl would go on to say, “It was like a guardian angel had come and put his arm around my shoulder and helped me get through one of the most difficult experiences I've ever had."
Which situation would you rather be in when you make a mistake - having people make fun of you or celebrate your failure, like the first video, or have someone support you and coach you through the difficult times, like in the second? Now, ask yourself my earlier question again. The next time you see someone struggle, will you be like the hockey fans in the first video or like Coach Cheeks in the second?
You don't have to be an NBA Hall of Famer to be a leader. At times, leadership is defined as being directive but calm under pressure. At other times, leadership requires patience and humility. There are going to be times in your leadership career when everything seems to click - those times will seem like pure magic. There are also going to be times when things don't go very well. How you react to both instances will define you as a leader. How you react will make all the difference in the world.
Now, check out this video of a similar circumstance. In this case, a young singer was invited to sing the national anthem before an NBA basketball game between the Portland Trailblazers and Oklahoma City Thunder on April 25, 2003. The singer was a 13 year-old 8th grade student who had been selected by the fans in a promotional contest. As luck would have it, she woke up that morning with a case of the flu and felt awful as she walked out in front of 20,000 plus fans.
The young girl started singing, but when she got to the phrase, "What so proudly we hailed," she stumbled over the words. She stopped - complete mind block. She started looking around for her father for help. At first, the audience tried to encourage her to continue, but the longer her uncomfortable pause lasted, some of the cheers turn to jeers. Suddenly, one of the Oklahoma City assistant coaches, Hall of Fame basketball player Maurice "Mo" Cheeks, walks up behind the girl, put his arm around her, and started singing with her. He coached her through the next few words of the song (and if you pay close attention to the video, he actually gets some of the words wrong too!). The audience's jeers and boos turn to cheers, as they collectively finish the song together. The girl would go on to say, “It was like a guardian angel had come and put his arm around my shoulder and helped me get through one of the most difficult experiences I've ever had."
Which situation would you rather be in when you make a mistake - having people make fun of you or celebrate your failure, like the first video, or have someone support you and coach you through the difficult times, like in the second? Now, ask yourself my earlier question again. The next time you see someone struggle, will you be like the hockey fans in the first video or like Coach Cheeks in the second?
You don't have to be an NBA Hall of Famer to be a leader. At times, leadership is defined as being directive but calm under pressure. At other times, leadership requires patience and humility. There are going to be times in your leadership career when everything seems to click - those times will seem like pure magic. There are also going to be times when things don't go very well. How you react to both instances will define you as a leader. How you react will make all the difference in the world.
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