After his rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at Soldier Field last week, Blackhawks National Anthem singer Jim Cornelison has been chosen to sing before every sporting event within city limits. Cornelison, whose boisterous performances are known to create a deafening roar from Hawks’ home crowds, will now sing at venues ranging from Wrigley Field to Schiller Park, home of the Chicago Griffins, the city’s professional Rugby team.
Citing low turnout for local sports teams such as The Chicago Machine, Field Lacrosse team at Toyota Park, or the Chicago Cardinals, the Indoor Football team at Odeum Expo Center, city officials feel that having Cornelison at these events will greatly increase the crowd energy for these generally low-attendance games.
“Well, we’ve seen it at all the Blackhawks games,” said a city official. “And when we saw how amped up the crowd was while Jim was singing at the Bears game last Sunday, we decided to try to capitalize on that.”
Cornelison said that he is excited to perform at the various venues, though he is particularly anxious for his first gig with the Chicago Bliss, the second city’s Lingerie Football League team.
By Jeff GoodSmith
