From @ToddBrock24f7: He’ll be inducted this weekend, but the former Cowboy and Bronco said performing the pregame song would be the bigger strain on his nerves.
Hall of Fame Week is a wild jumble of emotions for the enshrinees each year. But for longtime Cowboys defensive superstar DeMarcus Ware, the hardest part is already over.
The franchise’s all-time sacks leader performed the national anthem before a packed house and a national television audience Thursday evening from Canton, Ohio.
The linebacker, a nine-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion who had played in his share of huge games, had previously confessed that the honor of singing the “Star-Spangled Banner” prior to kickoff of the Hall of Fame Game between the Browns and Jets had him more nervous than he had ever been in his 41 years.
“You can never be ready for that,” Ware said per the Dallas Morning News. “There’s ways you can prepare for it and have ample amount of vocal lessons. But when you get up there and when the crowd goes silent, it’s your turn to get up there and sing to the whole United States of America on what it stands for. And that is huge.”
The Alabama native grew up in a musical family; his mother and uncle were singers, and Ware himself was the vocalist in a band in high school.
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Technically speaking, Ware’s rendition of the anthem was less than pitch-perfect, as many on social media were quick to point out.
But the moment had extra special meaning for the former Cowboy and Bronco who will take his place among the football immortals on Saturday. Ware said the song would be dedicated to the late Demaryius Thomas, his teammate who passed away in 2021. Ware and the wide receiver used to sing the anthem together on the Denver sideline prior to games.
And to kick off a football weekend where emotions tend to supersede the actual Xs and Os of the preseason, Ware’s heartfelt anthem may have gotten things off on just the right note.
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