The Ingrid Andress National Anthem controversy has effectively transcended life itself. For those of you just joining us, Andress sang the National Anthem, and it was a total disaster. After the overwhelmingly (and ongoing) negative response to the performance, eyes dreamily drifted over to Parker McCollum. The likes of Pat McAfee wondered how things would've gone if McCollum got on the mic instead.
However, hearing this, it appears as though McCollum is doing the rough equivalent of throwing his hands up and saying, "Nah, I'm good."
"The national anthem is a tough one, boys. You nail it and you get a pat on the back. If you [fudge] it up, you're absolute toast. I like to think I'm as patriotic as anyone's ever been, I bleed red white and blue. But I've passed on every opportunity to sing the anthem. Super high risk, very low reward," the country superstar stated on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Though I'm sure many folks will be disappointed by this, I'm hard-pressed to disagree. Disregarding the Andress disaster for a moment, can you imagine anything, like McCollum said, with a more uneven risk/reward outcome? You do it well, people clap and go about their day. It's expected that the song is sung well, so you get scarce kudos over it. (I'm sure people get paid handsomely for the performance, but bear with me.)
Parker McCollum Makes His Stance On Performing The National Anthem Clear
If you fail? If you're a few notes off? Well, look at what happened to Andress. Heck, remember what happened to Fergie in 2018? People still talk about that -- it was most folks' first reference when trying to "ground" how terrible Andress had been! You become a laughingstock! A passed-around meme that never dies!
Knowing that, would you agree to perform the National Anthem in front of the entire world? If the answer is "yes," you're either a staunch contrarian or a masochist! Years of your professional career -- flushed down the toilet.
Now, a high school gym? Sure, get drunk and belt out the worst rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. Whatever, people will chuckle at that and chalk it up to you representing the common man. But going out on a national stage and bombing? You may as well throw your career out of a plane without a parachute.
