The Superbowl is always a time of high excitement and enthusiasm. Whether you like to watch the game or just the commercials, everyone had something to cheer for Sunday night. The game was too close to call, the commercials were clever, and the half-time show was great.
We also have Christina Aguilera. Her rendition of the National Anthem was highly anticipated. They talked about it on Sportscenter, Pardon the Interruption, and on most other sports talk shows.
When it came time for the actual performance, she did a great job. Except for one line. She messed one up. She repeated part of one line, while skipping another.
On the news yesterday, the anchors discussed her performance and read some twitter posts (tweets) about it. Both of the first tweets said that she butchered the anthem and that she owed an apology to the nation for her ghastly mistake.
It is very easy to be critical of the girl's performance for someone sitting on the couch watching. I think these people have drastically undervalued the pressure that comes with this kind of performance. Millions of people all over the globe are watching you, waiting for you to start the game. It is no surprise that the pressure got into her head a little bit and caused her to bungle the words.
It is here that we all need to pause for a moment. We sing the National Anthem before sporting events to generate a sense of national pride and to create a sense of pride in our country before competitions. It gives us unity and it gives us strength. We, as a community, benefit more from having Aguilera botch the words, rather than having nobody try at all.
We, as a community, need to appreciate the value of the spirit of the words, rather than the words themselves. And we need to have a little patience. Although she is an international superstar, Christina Aguilera is still human. She is allowed to get swept away by the excitement and get a little nervous. We have to appreciate the fact that she had what it takes to do it at all.
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