Singing My Way to Fenway

My mother called me a couple of days ago to tell me about a contest she’d heard about on the radio.  Apparently, if I went down to the mall on Saturday there would be a national anthem singing competition hosted by the Boston Red Sox, and the winner of the contest would get to perform the national anthem at Fenway Park before an actual game.

This sounded cool, so I tried to find out more information.  I saw it listed on the mall’s website, but they didn’t really list a time.  (10am-4pm didn’t seem like a specific enough time to me)  Over those next few days I practiced singing The Star Spangled Banner in the shower, and driving to and from work, just to make sure I remembered the words, but I mostly put it out of my mind.

On Saturday morning, remembering the contest, I called the mall to ask what time the actual singing competition would be, and how one might sign up for it, but mall info desk lady had no idea.  Well, I didn’t want to drag the whole family out to the mall all day, so Ruby and I headed over just to check it out and do a little reconnaissance work.

What we found when we arrived was that yes, the competition did indeed last from 10am until 4pm.  Basically, after filling out a form, you just sang the anthem in front of the video camera, and then at 4 they would announce the winner.  It was an ongoing all day type of thing.  Last year’s winner was hanging out when I got there, and she appeared to be a 10-year-old girl.  This made me nervous, as I was no longer sure that I was the demographic they were looking for.  Last year’s runner-up also looked suspiciously like a 10-year-old girl.  Wondering if I was wasting my time, I stepped up to the microphone.

Well, I did a good job.  I could tell, because everyone got really quiet and I attracted a bit of a crowd, many of whom congratulated me afterward and one even showed me the goosebumps on her arm (not kidding).  I don’t tell you this to brag, but only so that you will understand that I felt good about it, and so deemed it worth my while to return to the mall at 4 o’clock for the big announcement.

I paced around the mall nervously, feeling a little silly for being so jittery.  This was a singing contest in a mall, and they were probably looking for a cute kid, or a twangy country-type person (the event was hosted by the local country station after all), and I am on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, so what do I care about this goofy contest, right?  But on the other hand, if I can’t even win a silly singing contest in a mall, then what right have I to be a professional singer?  Plus, Simone has never been to Fenway Park, and it is on our wish list of things to do in the next year, so this would be perfect.

As I sat there listening to the last few contestants, I started freaking out in my mind.  Was that girl better than me (no)?  Was that little kid cuter than me (yes)?  The good feelings I had had in the morning had all but disappeared, and when they stood up to announce the winner, I pushed my way into the crowd, wondering what I would do if I didn’t win, and even scarier, what I would do if I did.

And then they called my name.  I won.  I will be singing the national anthem at Fenway Park for a Boston Red Sox game in the upcoming season.  I am ridiculously excited, and I will obviously let you all know the date when I find it out, so that you can all buy tickets to the game, and when I get up to sing, you can all chant “Tenor Dad!  Tenor Dad!” and do the wave.  And I’ll be looking for you, so you’d better come.