A police officer stepped in to save the moment when the scheduled singer of the night couldn’t make it to a college basketball game to perform the National Anthem — and his special moment quickly went viral.
Carlton Smith, a West Virginia University police officer, was working his post at the game when he was asked to fill in for singer Leslie Dorchester while she was stuck in traffic.
He only had five minutes to prepare, but Smith grabbed the mic and blew the audience away right before the West Virginia Mountaineers took on the Kansas Jayhawks. Much like the police a cappella group in Alabama, Smith nailed his vocals while performing in his uniform. (Well, he didn’t audition for American Idol in 2014 for no reason!)
The officer, a West Virginia University graduate himself, said the opportunity meant the world to him.
“Any time you sing the National Anthem, there’s a sense of pride. I love this country and I love singing. So two of the things that I love put together, there’s an overwhelming feeling of joy,” Officer Smith said on the Bob Huggins Show. “Then on top of it, WVU. I love being a Mountaineer and so to be able to do it for a game… it was a big deal to me.”
Watch below and please SHARE if you were also blown away by this police officer’s rendition!
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