That Time I Stood on the Same Field as Tom Brady and Beyonce

I know very, very little about football.

Like, I can’t even explain to you how unaware I am of the plays, the terms, the rules and what is actually happening on the field.

I don’t even feel a little bit embarrassed confessing this because I’m either going to lie to you, or tell you the truth, so I’m going with the truth.

Over the years my knowledge has increased a smidge, but unfortunately, not enough to keep my attention on a three-hour game. Usually when the Texans or Broncos are playing my family has a live text feed happening so I am aware of what is going on, but during any given football game, that is the extent of my involvement, and really, investment.

Someone once told me that if I knew the players stories a part from their playing football, I would probably be more interested, and I understand that. I’m so not emotionally invested in football that it’s hard to keep my interest. So maybe I should start doing my research. If I can find a few “30 for 30” episodes I’ll try and start there.

(Aren’t you proud that I know what “30 for 30” is?!)

The tension is that I really WANT to like football. Every year college football starts and I see friends and family wake up on Saturday morning like it’s Christmas day, I feel a little bit of jealousy in my heart. I really want to wake up and be all, “It’s college game day! I can’t wait to sit and watch football all day!” but that dream has yet to pass. Again with the emotional investment. It’ a vicious cycle.

All of that to say, what little I do know about football, keeps me in the know for most big events. I have most likely heard of and even watched a few games of big players. And by big I mean high profile, not necessarily big as in body type, but I can see how that might sound confusing. Because football players, I understand, are large.

For instance, when you say the name Tom Brady, I won’t give you a blank stare. I’ll know where the conversation is going. Can I contribute to the conversation? Most likely not, unless it has to do with a scandal I may have read online. And we all know that everything we read on TMZ is 100% truth. (And for the record, I've never read a scandal about Tom Brady on TMZ. I've never even visited TMZ intentionally.)

Anyway, almost eleven years ago to the day, I stood on the same football field as Tom Brady. And I can even prove it to you.

The Super Bowl was hosted in Houston in 2004. (By the way, 2004 sounds much closer than eleven years ago.) The event planners contacted my former choir director and originally asked if he could get a group of kids together to sing the National Anthem with Beyonce’. No big deal. (Wait. What? I'm still bug eyed over it.) (And side-note, the choir I was involved in was a city choir, not an actual school or church choir.) Unfortunately, that gig fell through, but they asked him if he had any older or former choir members he could pull together instead, to sing with Josh Groban. Houston Children’s Chorus is a very large chorus, with many members still active as alumni, so he knew he could make it happen. (I could talk about all of the experiences I've had with HCC for years. Like singing at Carnegie Hall, and the Vatican in Rome, but I also might bore you to tears. But really, I appreciate them so much more now that I'm older.)

After multiple rehearsals, recordings, excitement, being escorted to the stadium via a large bus and security, and waiting backstage with the rest of the E! anchors, we found ourselves on the field of Reliant Stadium standing on risers waiting to sing “You Raise Me Up” with Josh Groban. To this day it ranks as one of the top experiences of my life. Our role for the pre-game show was to honor the families of the fallen astronauts from the space shuttle mission, Columbia. A tribute to their families and NASA. It was equally as exciting as it was humbling. I hope to never forget it as long as I live.

(Tall girl here stood in the back row, but if you look closely you can see me around 1:50 in the upper right hand corner. And you can catch a great glimpse of Jen at 2:32. Brien and Kevyn, my brothers, were also there. It was just a fun family outing. Oh, and you can see a close-up of Tom Brady around 1:42.)

We were slotted to sing right before the National Anthem, so as soon as we were done signing, we stood in our places on our risers, and watched as Beyonce and her orchestra took their places. I can still vividly see Beyoncé’s face, and all her bodyguards, as she walked out on the field. I can only imagine how overwhelmed she felt. If I was nervous to sing WITH people, she had to have been shaking in her stilettos. Because of timing and logistics, they made us stay in our places while the stadium sang our National Anthem loud and proud. We were not sad about that at all. It’s basically like we sang the National Anthem that day. With Beyonce. Basically.

The only thing that could have made the day perfect would have been to get to stay for the game, but unfortunately, they escorted us out and straight to our fancy bus the minute the National Anthem was over. And lest you have forgotten, that was the year of the Janet Jackson escapade. (Insert awkward smile.)

I knew what teams were going head to head that day, and well, that’s about it. As we watched the game at our director’s house, we were on cloud nine. It had been a good day.

Every year the Super Bowl approaches I think about my day the pros. And then I remember, oh yeah, I stood on the same field as Tom Brady. And I laugh. And then I tell people about my claim to fame. (It may not be throwback Thursday quite yet, but I'll just call this post Way Back Wednesday.)

Because you know, Tom Brady and I are totes best friends forever.