Very cool story about a girl who sang The Star Spangled Banner as a fifth grader for the Rutgers/Michigan State game, who is now a freshman at University of Michigan and will be singing the same at the Rutgers Michigan game.
Also, Tom Izzo is a good guy:
In March 2016, as Rutgers basketball was winding down a dreary season with a visit from second-ranked Michigan State, Emma Jonas was gearing up for her big moment.
The fifth-grader, whose father Seth Jonas is a 1991 Rutgers grad and avid Scarlet Knights fan, had been coming to games for years. This one was different. This time, Emma was going to sing The Star-Spangled Banner.
She’d sung it at a Rutgers women’s hoops game the year before, but this time the sound-check got scratched and she was feeling nervous as 5,000 fans gathered at the RAC. Then Michigan State coach Tom Izzo walked by.
“I said, ‘Hey coach, my daughter is singing the anthem and she’s really nervous,’” Seth Jonas said. “He stopped and started giving her this pep talk: ‘Don’t worry about the crowd. You’ll be just great.’”
......
She remains grateful for Izzo’s assist, but as a Wolverine, her feelings about Michigan State have evolved.
“At Michigan we really do have such a superiority complex over them,” she said. “Knowing I have that great memory of Tom Izzo, I’m always going to differentiate that from my hatred for MSU.”
Also, Tom Izzo is a good guy:
In March 2016, as Rutgers basketball was winding down a dreary season with a visit from second-ranked Michigan State, Emma Jonas was gearing up for her big moment.
The fifth-grader, whose father Seth Jonas is a 1991 Rutgers grad and avid Scarlet Knights fan, had been coming to games for years. This one was different. This time, Emma was going to sing The Star-Spangled Banner.
She’d sung it at a Rutgers women’s hoops game the year before, but this time the sound-check got scratched and she was feeling nervous as 5,000 fans gathered at the RAC. Then Michigan State coach Tom Izzo walked by.
“I said, ‘Hey coach, my daughter is singing the anthem and she’s really nervous,’” Seth Jonas said. “He stopped and started giving her this pep talk: ‘Don’t worry about the crowd. You’ll be just great.’”
......
She remains grateful for Izzo’s assist, but as a Wolverine, her feelings about Michigan State have evolved.
“At Michigan we really do have such a superiority complex over them,” she said. “Knowing I have that great memory of Tom Izzo, I’m always going to differentiate that from my hatred for MSU.”
Rutgers basketball: Inspired by Tom Izzo, a full-circle moment for national anthem singer
Emma Jonas grew up with Rutgers basketball. She's singing The Star-Spangled banner for Michigan Saturday. And she has a great Tom Izzo story.
www.app.com
