Singing At the Twins Game

This Dream Come True Was Extraordinary

If you know me, you know that I’ve been a fan of the Minnesota Twins baseball team for a long time… like, 50 years long time. For most of those years, I never dreamed that I would ever sing for the team, much less a stadium full of fans. But sometime over the past 15 years, that very dream did emerge. And last Sunday, that dream came true.

And it was extraordinary.

What made it so? I knew I was surrounded and filled with love and encouragement from soooooooo many people all over the country. People were so ripe with excitement for this, not only people online, but real life people. Especially my Mom and sibling Jody, who were by my side the entire time.

But I also had my fellow ushers at Target Field who were cheering me on from their posts all around the stadium. (If you didn’t know, I work part-time as an usher for all the Twins games. It’s my happy place.)

What Was it Like For Me?

After we arrived, I ate some Red Cow sliders and enjoyed the game with Jody, Mom, long-time family friend Nancy, and cousin Ian. At the start of the 6th inning, we made the trek around the stadium toward the flag pole where I’d sing. (Kudos to our awesome wheelchair runner, Mike! A+ ushering!)

I was greeted by a tech crew: video cameras, photographer, sound technician, and producer. They checked my mic, and gave me an earpiece to be able to hear myself as I sang. They were all acting like this was no big deal, obviously they did it all the time. And I was just trying to be calm inside—keep breathing, keep drinking water, and remember my starting pitch. (I put a recording of my first note on my phone for reference!)

When we hit the middle of the seventh inning, the crew and I got into our places, awaiting our cue. A booming voice introducing me came over the stadium’s speakers. Imagine the roar of a huge stadium, suddenly growing quiet, and then the finger gets pointed to me, saying GO!

My job was to sing. No time to sit in the quiet and reflect on what was happening. Don’t think. Don’t look at Mom or Jody. Don’t think about Dad. Don’t think about how this dream was coming true in real time. Sing.

I didn’t think about how I was surrounded by tens of thousands of people, and however many more watching the broadcast. I just focused on the camera in front of me, and tried to remember the lyrics and stay on pitch, while hearing my voice reverberate all around the stadium behind me. (My earpiece thing FELL OUT during the third word I sang!)

My desire was to make the performance heartfelt and interesting, without seeming like I was showboating. Changing the last phrase to “Our home” instead of “my home” was an idea I got from watching other singers do the tune on YouTube. It always feels good when you can include people with Us, Our, Ours, rather than just saying Me, My, Mine.

After I sang, I thanked the crew and headed for my Mom. Hugs and high-fives all around. I so wish my Dad could’ve been there—he would’ve been so happy. I was wearing a t-shirt of his and his Twins watch, to have a little bit of him there with me.

We had the best time together, leaving the stadium shortly after I sang, and returned to my apartment for ice cream. Duh.

But then the whole thing took on another level of awesomeness for me when I posted a video of the performance on Facebook (a different angle than above). And the love and cheers poured in… really blowing my mind. Read the fun comments and watch the video here! I hope you get a chance sometime to bring a dream to life. It was super fun for me, my family, and so many others.

I know singing “God Bless America” might not mean much in the grand scheme of things—it’s not going to take my music career to the next level, or put food on the table or money in the bank. But that day will always be a great source of joy and gratitude for me. And a reminder that sometimes dreams really do come true.

You can stream my/Marcus Royce’s music on all the major platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and more. Check out my latest piano version of “Brave!”