Thank U @dariusrucker 4 singing national anthem. It was special night @ TD Arena! #YouRock #HonoraryCoug @Al_Samuels pic.twitter.com/JFpTgbREx3
— CofC Basketball (@CofCBasketball) January 8, 2014
Country superstar and Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker helped the College of Charleston Cougars kick off open their first-ever match-up as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association by singing the Star Spangled Banner on Tuesday at TD Arena.
In front of a home crowd of more than 4,100 fans, the most so far this season for the 9-7 CofC Cougars, Grammy Award-winning local boy Rucker belted out the notoriously hard-to-sing national anthem before the team went on to beat the James Madison University Dukes 75-61.
The Star Spangled Banner has a bad record of getting butchered by celebrities (see Scott Stapp, R. Kelly, Josh Groban + Flea) , but Rucker, wearing a nondescript Nike sweater, glasses, and a big ol’ S.C.-shaped belt buckle, kept his rendition pretty close to tradition, adding only a few flourishes of his trademark twang.
Rucker is known for his under-the-radar appearances at Chucktown events, such as his duet last year with a Wando High student with Down syndrome in the school’s talent show.
Video credit: College of Charleston
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