First, there was a monkey that threw out the first pitch. I took a picture, as best I could. Here it is:
As you can see (I hope) this went off without a hitch. The monkey stood on the stool and threw the ball to the ballgirl. Excellent job, monkey. This next picture is a bit grainy, but I think you can see the monkey more clearly. This is actually a picture of the videoboard.
The second didn't go so well. This featured a guy named Peter Rometti. I'm not sure why, but he was allowed to sing the national anthem. And when I say "sing" I mean butcher the first half and then laugh his way through the second part. It was so bad and took so long, that the crowd just took over half way through and literally sang over Rometti. It was as if everyone at Fenway simultaneously decided that they needed cover for the guy because otherwise we'd never get through it.
I can't imagine what kind of screening process the kid went through, but whatever kind it was, it needs to be revamped at minimum. The kid was awful even before he started laughing. Once he started laughing, everyone started laughing, but the kid kept laughing and then singing and then laughing and then singing and then laughsinging and then everyone kind went "fuck it" and started singing too.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Rometti was, uh, mentally challenged, in case that wasn't obvious, so I'm assuming he got to sing to promote a foundation or something. I didn't catch the reason, but theres no way he was there for his singing ability.
Unfortunately, I can find no video evidence of this, but I'm sure someone somewhere must have it. If anyone can find any video of this, please kindly post the link in the comments section.
22 comments:
Did you not know you were at the Red Sox' "Disabilities Awareness Night" event? You would be remiss no matter what you said due to your ignorance...Peter did a great job considering he's, uh "mentally challenged" -- and it appeared to me the crowd, for the most part was not laughing at Peter, but with him and helped him get through this rather daunting task...like to see what you could have done!
Thank you for reading, Linda. I couldn't have done any better, but then I wasn't there to sing.
I don't believe I said the crowd was laughing at Peter, because I don't believe that was the case. We started laughing when he started laughing, but then he kept laughing and thats when the crowd took over for him. I was proud to have been there and to have helped sing along.
I DVR'd his singing of the anthem once I realized what was going on. That was the best thing ever. They should have a mongoloids, er, handi-capapble people singing the Star Spangled Banner every night. It's a guarenteed ratings grabber! I am dissapointed no one has posted it on youtube yet.
Feel free to be the first, Ryan. And do feel free to post the same comments. That way, the world would know what an asshole you really are. I've worked with Peter for years, and know he would never think of saying anything so heinous about you. Bravo.
Matty,
Let me just start off by telling you that Peter is Autistic. As a mother of an autistic son, let me say that Peters singing was simply music to my ears. I was the most beautiful version of the National Anthem. How are you so oblivious to not know that Peter is Differently-Abled? Bravo to the Sox for picking such a great young man for the job! It brought tears of joy to my eyes to see the proud, beaming smile on Peter's face!
Next time, before you blog, think of how many people you may be offending before you make ridiculous remarks...
I found your site only after seeing a re-play of Peter singing the national anthem. Believe me I will not be adding it to my favorites! There should be a screening process for people like you to be able to post your stupid comments on the Internet. Try to give a little thought in what you have to say rather than your own worthless opinion.
i was at the game and after the national anthem finished my friend and i turned to each other (we are both 17) and said "that was the greatest national anthem ever." it was what we talked about during and after the game. im sure that every single person who sang along would agree with that. when you wrote "It was as if everyone at Fenway simultaneously decided that they needed cover for the guy because otherwise we'd never get through it." that is totally bs because everyone there sang because they were showing their support and respect for the singer. as stacey said you made some riduculous remarks on an amazing event. it was an awesome event and what you wrote really screwed it up, especially for people who werent there.
who are these people who lambast you Matty? where did they come from? is there a link to your site at a "mentally challenged" messageboard that encourages people to attack bloggers who make light of extremely awkward situations involving autistic teens? i just dont appreciate the morality police coming down so hard on you for your descriptions of the pregame activities. to put things back into perspective, this is a sports blog, not an disability support forum. I was at the game on saturday as well and was amazed by young Peter's rendition of the anthem. Moved to tears actually. In fact, I was overwhelmed with joy when Peter bursted out laughing, because it saved me and the other 30,000 plus in attendance from having laughed first and recieving the cold stares by people like Linda, Stacey and the two anonymous 17 year old self-righteous sox fans. For a different perspective, I wonder how the men and women Sailors in uniform just a few rows ahead of me felt about Peter's performance? Or the Color Guard made up of veterans of foreign wars? While I doubt they took offense (a lesson that could be passed around to other commenters), maybe they cheered after the crowd took over and sang the rest of the anthem, rather than letting anyone, regardless of mental capacity, butcher a moment that should be somber and reflective, especially during times of war like these. now, more importantly, can someone post a link to this video?
Apologies to everyone I offended.
However, it is my blog and if I find something funny, offensive, awkward, or otherwise (not that this was or wasn't any of those things) I'm going to say so. If you don't like it you don't have to read it. There are millions of other blogs on the internet, many of them written by far better writers than I. In fact, I've linked to a number of them (listed on the right side of the page). Feel free to click on over to them.
Again, thanks for reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhcZRFcjbhw
if it was so OBVIOUS that this "kid" was mentally challenged, then why do you feel the need to rip him in a 5 minute essay? i was at the game, wasn't a big deal, due to the fact that everyone KNEW he was mentally challenged. Better than having some immigrant who can't even speak english up there "butchering" it. I think the only retard here is you, sir.
Offend away!...I say. I would encourage anyone to say what's in their heart and what's on their mind. I can only speak for myself and here from Oklahoma City, I can tell you that watching it on TV was awesome. I knew right away I was witnessing something extrordinary. I can't imagine being there. So assholes and angels, all of you, rock on! The world would be a far more boring place without all of you.
I am not bothered by people speaking their minds, or being angry, but simply posting profanities will not be tolerated.
I think since it was “Disability Awareness Night” that having a man with autism sing the National Anthem was fine by me. Jimi Hendrix’s version, while not a traditional arrangement, was quite beautiful! However, I don’t agree with the p.c. police coming down on Matt, he’s as entitled to his opinion as anyone else.
stacey, linda, and the other people jumping on the writer's back... what did he say to offend you? that the singer was not good? of course he wasn't! that doesn't mean he shouldn't have been there, or that his singing didn't touch a lot of people.
when the crowd chimed in, it gave me shivers. it made everyone come together, and made me happy for humanity, as corny as that sounds. but i wouldn't want to hear him sing every game.
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