Dad sings national anthem impromptu after the sound system fails at high school basketball game

Trenton Brown had just been attending a basketball game at his son's school in Ohio but at the end of it, he had gone viral online. Brown was attending a high school basketball game between the Waverly High Tigers and the Portsmouth West High Senators in West Portsmouth, Ohio, on Friday when everyone stood up for the national anthem. All the parents and kids were standing and the teams were lined up waiting for the anthem to blare out of the school speakers. The wait turned into an awkward silence and everyone looked around what was happening. They appeared to be an issue with the sound system and it wasn't getting fixed. As the awkward silence dragged on, Trenton Brown took it upon himself to sing the national anthem, reported CNN. The video of him carrying the Star-Spangled Banner all the way through to the end went viral in no time. The video posted on Facebook garnered more than a million views.

Trenton Brown was nudged to sing the anthem by his wife after they realized the sound system was broken. "I looked over at the announcer and the music didn't play and didn't play and I looked over and he was getting a little frustrated. My wife gave me a little nudge and said "Sing" and I said, "All right,'" said Brown, one of the Waverly parents. Brown has spent his whole life singing and playing music but never had he sung the national anthem solo before.  "There was a lot of awkward silence ... and then I started singing and that was it," said Brown. What was even more beautiful was that the crowd joined in and sang their hearts out. 

It was one of the other parents, Johnny Futhey, at the basketball game that recorded Brown singing. Futhey proceeded to post the video on Facebook where it went viral. "He brought about everyone in the gym to tears when he saved the day by standing up in the crowd and singing the anthem," Futhey told CNN. "When I originally posted I thought it would get some interest but didn't realize it would be like a million views. I posted it because I was like, the world needs to see this." Trenton Brown was relatively calm about the whole situation and went about eating his popcorn and enjoying the game once he finished singing the anthem. Those who came across the post lauded Brown for his spontaneous performance. "Don’t know him but wow is all I can say he was amazing! Absolutely wonderful!" wrote Patty Richmond Holsinger. Kerri Gaskin wrote, "Brought tears to my eyes. Passion and love for his country. We need more of this. Well done."

Someone who would take a leaf out of Trenton Brown's book is the current US President Donald Trump. While often demanding respect for the national flag and anthem, Trump himself was caught on tape waving his hands as if he were 'conducting' music as the anthem was playing. In a video from earlier this year, Trump can be seen waving his hands as the national anthem played during a Super Bowl watch party held at Trump's property in February 2020. The video was posted by a real-estate agent of a Russian-American firm from the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Trump can be seen meeting the guests at the party along with his wife, Melania, and his son, Barron. As Demi Lovato starts to sing the national anthem at the Hard Rock Stadium, many including Melania and Barron Trump place their hands over their hearts but the President raises his hands and twirls his hand like he was conducting an orchestra. The video was posted as part of a series of stories posted on Instagram by the real-estate agent who's a regular at events held at Trump properties, including the Mar-a-Lago.