By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
I hear a big “celebrity” has offered to sing the national anthem at Vegas Golden Knights home playoff games at T-Mobile Arena during the Western Conference Finals.
This being Las Vegas, beware the call of the siren.
When I read the social media offer by country singer Carrie Underwood to sing the anthem before the Golden Knights-Winnipeg Jets games in Las Vegas, I was wondering what was the organic connection between the country singer and the Vegas Golden Knights?
What’s next? Her husband, Nashville Predators player Mike Fisher tweeting that if the Golden Knights need another player, he’d be happy to join the VGK lineup?
From her tweet after the Predators lost to the Jets in a conference semi-final Game 7 Thursday night, it didn’t appear that she gave much thought that perhaps someone who is pretty darn good is already singing the national anthem before Golden Knights games.
LVSportsBiz.com was the first media outlet to bring up the idea that Carnell Johnson be the Golden Knights anthem singer for the playoffs. And then LVSB made an even more intense plea with this story.
As you know, hockey players and teams are very superstitious, especially around Stanley Cup playoff time.
And the Golden Knights have reached the Stanley Cup playoffs’ Final Four with Johnson singing the anthem before all home playoff games in Rounds 1 and 2.
The 36-year-old Johnson is also strongly rooted in Las Vegas. He is a born and raised Las Vegan with a music teaching degree from UNLV who has dreams of singing on Broadway.
Johnson — known for his “Golden Pipes” moniker and he has a Golden Knights hockey sweater to prove it — is like many of the Golden Knights players.
He’s a humble guy with big dreams who is paying his dues right now as a gondolier singer at the Venetian.
Johnson is also a gem of a person. He’s such a nice dude that I could even imagine him offering to sing a duet or split the anthem duties because American and Canadian anthems will be sung.
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The classically-trained opera singer with the bass voice also knows when to even not sing a particular word in the American anthem at T-Mobile Arena. Johnson casually moves the mic away from his mouth and lets the crowd of more than 18,000 yell, “Night,” during the anthem.
You may have noticed that the Golden Knights’ style is to stay away from big-name performers — except for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who just happens to be the nicest person on earth and an NHL Hall-of-Famer who walks around with a perpetual smile.
Nothing against Underwood, but the Golden Knights have been doing just fine in the playoffs with Golden Pipes.
But I’m sure the Las Vegas 51s baseball team would love to have Underwood sing the national anthem when the crooner’s local Nashville Sounds ballclub comes to Cashman Field to play the 51s.
That’s one gig that Las Vegas would be happy to see the talented Underwood play.
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