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Super Bowl XXV in 1991 in Tampa, Fla. The New York Giants against the Buffalo Bills. America at war in the Persian Gulf. Performing the national anthem at the game: Whitney Houston. At the intersection of sports and real life, the gifted singer provided one of the most moving renditions in history.
Whitney Houston's Super Bowl performance will live on.
Singing ability and circumstance combined to make what broadcaster Frank Gifford called “the most electric moment in sports.”
Not that you had to be a sports fan to be moved. All that was required was a pulse and an awareness of what was going on in the world.
Thoughts of yesteryear occurred in the wake of Whitney Houston’s death Saturday (Feb. 11) at age 48 in Los Angeles. Death does have a tendency to be a cause of remembrance and reflection — well, provided that it’s not your own.
Whitney Houston performed the anthem (actually she lip-synched the performance) on Jan. 27, 1991 — 10 days after the United States’ war in the Persian Gulf had begun. Jet flyovers and patriotic fervor made the moment as memorable as an anthem has had.
Whitney Houston performing the “Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXV:
Speaking of anthems, Whitney Houston also gave the world “One Moment in Time.” She performed the song at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Sumer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The song also was part of the album “1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time” that was produced in conjunction with NBC Sports’ coverage of the Games.
The tune was played during a montage of 1988 World Series highlights at the end of NBC’s coverage of the the Los Angeles Dodgers’ triumph against the Oakland Athletics. It also was played during the Baltimore Orioles’ game in which Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-games-played record in 1995.
“One Moment in Time” has been described as “an anthem for believing in yourself against all odds.” Here is her performance from the Grammys on Feb, 22, 1989, with video that includes some American Olympians:
And another rendition, featuring Olympic footage:
Whitney Houston also was the musical performer on an NBA Superstars tribute to basketball great Julius Erving:
Here is Whitney Houston singing at the 1999 Sports Illustrated Awards ceremony (there’s even Michael Jordan shown in the audience at the end of the video):
Sentiments of many regarding Whitney Houston can best be summed up in one of her classic tunes “I Will Always Love You” from “The Bodyguard” in which she starred with Kevin Costner:
Elsewhere in the world of mortality, author Jeffrey Zaslow was killed Friday (Feb. 10) in an auto accident in Michigan. He was 53. He leaves behind a wife and three daughters. A former Chicago Sun-Times columnnist (he replaced Ann Landers as an advice columnist in 1987), Jeffrey Zaslow went on to write best-selling books. He, too, leaves behind a legacy that generations to come will be able to appreciate. How he connects to sports is beyond my comprehension (but then again, so are a multitide of things). Thought he merited a mention nonetheless.
Life. Enjoy it while you can. Any way you can (as long as federal, state and local laws are not broken in the process). Sports, music, writing may play a role in such enjoyment. If we are fortunate, people play an even larger, more important part. Sports, music, writing may last forever. People do not. So let those near and dear know how much they mean to you while you have the chance. After all, they could be gone tomorrow. Or you could be.
Let’s see if we might be able to end on a slightly lighter note (lighter than death shouldn’t be that difficult after all).
So The Wife and I went out to dine Saturday night. As the couple seated at the table next to us was exiting, the husband — whom we did not know — stopped by to exchange pleasantries. He was an older gentleman, probably in his 70s.
“For my 25th anniversary, I took my wife to Hawaii,” he told us with a certain amount of pride. “Someone asked what I did for my 50th. I said, ‘I went back to get her.'”
And he departed into the night.
Always good to leave ‘em laughing.
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