{"id":26046,"date":"2026-08-03T12:18:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T07:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26046"},"modified":"2026-08-03T12:18:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T07:18:47","slug":"bizarre-anthem-performance-at-baseball-game-goes-viral-the-flag-looked-embarrassed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26046","title":{"rendered":"Bizarre Anthem Performance at Baseball Game Goes Viral: \u2018The Flag Looked Embarrassed\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5747600\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5747600\" class=\"wp-image-5747600 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/08\/wpbl-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1550\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5747600\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Photo Credit: WPBL)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>From &#8220;Dancing in the Streets&#8221; to &#8220;Covering your ears and cringing in the bleachers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Women&#8217;s Pro Baseball League got a bunch of free press on Saturday when its debut game was overshadowed by an absolutely dreadful rendition of the National Anthem performed by <strong>Martha Reeves<\/strong> and two other women.<\/p>\n<p>Trying to explain the <em>very<\/em> pitchy performance is next to impossible; you have to listen to it to believe how off-the-rails it went. Keep an ear out for the screeching &#8220;Rockets red glare \/ the bombs bursting in air&#8221; moment midway through, though. Then again, it would be impossible to miss \u2014 if you can listen for that long.<\/p>\n<p>The 85-year-old Reeves was the lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas back in the &#8217;60s and performed hits like &#8220;Dancing in the Streets&#8221; and &#8220;Nowhere to Run&#8221;&#8230; but unfortunately for Reeves, she could not run away from the skewering she got on social media.<\/p>\n<p>For starters, here&#8217;s the initial clip, which has been viewed more than 9.5 million times since Saturday:<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"4e518c9557316ff2342b6168170a1e9d\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">shoutout to the WPBL anthem performance <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AO2KGWF2iK\">pic.twitter.com\/AO2KGWF2iK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; lauren (@wrenicole) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/wrenicole\/status\/2083699451617595813?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>And now for the reviews.<\/p>\n<p>One user said the &#8220;off-key mess&#8221; was so bad it &#8220;made the flag look embarrassed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"57af08c3d8990aad3b1330afc1ab24e9\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Martha Reeves and the backup crew just committed a hate crime against the National Anthem. What should\u2019ve been a proud, powerful moment at a baseball game turned into a strained, off-key mess that made the flag look embarrassed. If you can\u2019t hit the notes or carry the weight of\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WPvlDVZhGr\">pic.twitter.com\/WPvlDVZhGr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Erik-Unchained (@ErikUnchained) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ErikUnchained\/status\/2083892783589228637?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>TK<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"b94b4d377ac42e2431eb0e347ff5a7be\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Whitney Houston gave us the BEST rendition of the National Anthem. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the WORST!!! <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f926-1f3fc-200d-2640-fe0f.png\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/W2ArOzGNHu\">https:\/\/t.co\/W2ArOzGNHu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Green Bay Babe <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f1fa-1f1f8.png\" alt=\"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/> (@GreenBayBabe66) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GreenBayBabe66\/status\/2083922218258473062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another said they would&#8217;ve been better off just putting a boombox in front of the microphone.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"15e5185ab1be2296ff563d61dec2b5ae\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So\u2026..this was the national anthem for the women\u2019s pro baseball league game and\u2026\u2026they probably should have just put a boombox up to the microphone instead. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1wsWXUElXO\">pic.twitter.com\/1wsWXUElXO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adam L. Wingfield <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f69b.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\ude9b\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f468-1f3fe-200d-1f4bb.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffe\u200d\ud83d\udcbb\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/> (@adamlwingfield) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/adamlwingfield\/status\/2083884570307412398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>And some users couldn&#8217;t listen for more than 2 seconds before ditching the tune.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"b614b6b7a194a8bcf31924da41f056b7\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I made it 1.2 seconds. Good lord this makes cats sound like opera singers<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f633.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\ude33\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JCousaeKir\">pic.twitter.com\/JCousaeKir<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Spitfire (@RealSpitfire) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RealSpitfire\/status\/2083886352702009503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>While another user said this was Exhibit A when it came to arguing against playing The Star Spangled Banner before games.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"73c8635a918a3a4c96eecfd482ee6065\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is my evidence that the National Anthem is not needed at every sporting event <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/x7oHIohoFy\">https:\/\/t.co\/x7oHIohoFy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; I\u2019m Bad @ Tekken (@ATLWiley) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ATLWiley\/status\/2083895566233157885?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;It should be illegal to sing the National Anthem this bad,&#8221; another user wrote.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"154929506952b04ebe716d5ffacdff1b\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It should be illegal to sing the National Anthem this bad.<\/p>\n<p>Like a misdemeanor because I&#039;m a sensible moderate. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gpo4lgZo4C\">https:\/\/t.co\/gpo4lgZo4C<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Evangelical Dark Web (@EvangelicalDW) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EvangelicalDW\/status\/2083977967110066454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>And it kept going from there&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"f55e49a6693c48ee4081512e9f8e1ff8\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Unfortunately, I saw it so you need to as well.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m actually so sorry. <\/p>\n<p>I challenge everyone to try and listen through this entire performance of the National Anthem at the first women\u2019s professional baseball game.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s brutal.  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cfy2HVUefa\">pic.twitter.com\/cfy2HVUefa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jack (@jackunheard) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jackunheard\/status\/2083990912779030769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"1093cce31ad912f10dbdc62dfe17fd0f\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I know that the National Anthem is always sung horribly at sporting events for some reason, but this takes it to a whole new level. I don&#039;t even know what to say. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aOfz4fJIcr\">https:\/\/t.co\/aOfz4fJIcr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Possum Reviews (@ReviewsPossum) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ReviewsPossum\/status\/2083931023671202050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"68b06ebebb67db2b8c1a2650848b7ba8\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On the floor in tears. I could have been a national anthem singer. No rhythm. No cohesion. They fighting each other for dominance (vocally) <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f62d.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\ude2d\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f62d.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\ude2d\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f62d.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\ude2d\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4mt49Egeag\">https:\/\/t.co\/4mt49Egeag<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; violetR <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f4a4.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\udca4\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/> break (@getmyshinin) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/getmyshinin\/status\/2083994760885506513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>While a few X users said Reeves had leapfrogged other all-time terrible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/tv\/stupid-bowl-49ers-fans-boo-giants-players-during-national-anthem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Anthem<\/a> renditions from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hMzIk2pUuNU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Roseanne Barr<\/strong><\/a> and <strong>Carl Lewis<\/strong> to become the new &#8220;standard&#8221; by which bad performances are measured.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Roseanne Barr is off the hook!&#8221; one user quipped.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"3f361555f69e547a72cc04585ce68f9e\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is now the new #1 funniest national anthem performance ever. Fergie, Carl Lewis, Roseanne&#8230;take a seat. This one beats them all <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uD5GEMOJTt\">https:\/\/t.co\/uD5GEMOJTt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Gnimmo Gnome (@GnimmoGnome) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GnimmoGnome\/status\/2083990681324785802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"88b61559a2d7407d7bf9f6f561046437\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Roseanne Barr is off the hook <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f923.png\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd23\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zPo0m6iaFO\">https:\/\/t.co\/zPo0m6iaFO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LangmanVince\/status\/2083922308578586646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>The crowd at\u00a0Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois was a bit easier going, but the camera still caught some fans clearly uncomfortable with what they were hearing; the camera also caught one player who appeared to stifle a smirk at one point after a missed note.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/bizarre-anthem-performance-at-baseball-game-goes-viral-the-flag-looked-embarrassed\/\">Bizarre Anthem Performance at Baseball Game Goes Viral: \u2018The Flag Looked Embarrassed\u2019<\/a> first appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\">Mediaite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Photo Credit: WPBL) From &#8220;Dancing in the Streets&#8221; to &#8220;Covering your ears and cringing in the bleachers.&#8221; The Women&#8217;s Pro Baseball League got a bunch of free press on Saturday when its debut game was overshadowed by an absolutely dreadful rendition of the National Anthem performed by Martha Reeves and two other women. Trying to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/08\/wpbl-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}