The 25th anniversary of a memorable anthem at Lambeau Field

Twenty-five year ago today, our daughter Katherine sang the National Anthem at the Packer home opener.

As she stood there alone on that iconic field, pig-tailed and nearly tripping inside her grandpa’s giant jersey, we worried the experience might traumatize her, that she might forget the words or freeze in terror when she eyed the crowd.

“What’s the worst thing that could happen,” I asked my husband as we fretted to each other the night before.

And we thought we knew.

She aced that song, though, and she enjoyed herself tremendously out there. So, we heaved a great sigh of relief.

That was September 9, 2001.

Two days later, we learned how naive our concerns had been.

On that historic Tuesday, Katherine sat in her seventh grade classroom and watched 9/11 unfold. The worst thing that could happen in this country turned out to be exponentially more devastating than we could have imagined. We understood our vulnerability in ways we had not even considered before.

Katherine sang the National Anthem at Lambeau again five years later. This time, NFL protocol called for the players to stand on the field during the anthem. Ramped up security made our trek through the stadium more circuitous and Katherine’s task more daunting.

At 12-years old, she got a kick out of the giant crowd; at 17-years old, she and everyone else in that stadium understood how much that anthem meant to a country still battling shock and grief.

The girl, the stadium and the world at large has changed dramatically since then.

Today, Katherine is a wife and the mother of a beautiful baby girl. Renovations to Lambeau Field has made it one of the premier stadiums in the league.

And our beautiful country soldiers on, fighting to defend the principles on which it was founded.

May the words of that anthem inspire us all.

Here is 12-year old Katherine singing the National Anthem at Lambeau Field two days before 9/11.