A&M fans finish what anthem singer started
Basketball crowd belts out memorable ending after dehydration, nerves get best of 2018 grad
COLLEGE STATION — One person was supposed to sing the national anthem Saturday in Reed Arena. It turned into about 7,000, and an example of the Aggie Network in action prior to Georgia vs. Texas A&M.
Angela Witzkoske returned to work in Houston on Monday with an unforgettable story — from what she can remember — thanks to the most memorable “Star-Spangled Banner” in Reed’s 22-year history.
“People asked me, ‘How did the A&M game go?’ ” Witzkoske recalled with a slight chuckle. “I told them, ‘Not exactly how I planned.’ When I told them what happened they said, ‘At least you were in the right place.’ ”
Indeed. Witzkoske, the reigning Miss Southeast Texas of the Miss Texas Scholarship Organization and a 2018 A&M graduate, had the honor of singing the anthem at her alma mater. An already hectic weekend for the Gonzales native culminated with her standing on the court before a crowd and beginning a strong version of the anthem.
Then the a cappella offering stopped. Witzkoske wobbled, apologized and tried picking up where she left off. Her second attempt was brief, and trainers and others on the sidelines came to her aid.
“I was dehydrated, and hadn’t eaten in about 18 hours,” Witzkoske explained. “I hadn’t made time to grab something to eat. So that dehydration, lack of food and, essentially, nerves … Once it hit me that those ESPN cameras were right there, I thought, ‘This is for real.’ ”
Witzkoske, 23, had sang the anthem on plenty of occasions, including at the Special Olympics and a Houston Baptist basketball game.
“I had always been fine,” she said. “I sing in front of crowds all the time.”
This time around, medical personnel determined a sudden drop in blood pressure had caused lightheadedness and dizziness.
“I couldn’t hear or see anything,” Witzkoske said. “That’s when I really got scared.”
Fans didn’t boo or hiss at the unfinished anthem or even fall silent. Instead, a supportive crowd picked up where Witzkoske left off in a rousing rendition of the song that had A&M and Georgia fans both belting out “bombs bursting in air” like never before.
“I really didn’t notice until they had sat me down in a chair and I had people around me taking my blood pressure,” Witzkoske said. “I thought, ‘Are there people still singing?’ ”
Later, Witzkoske was shown a video of the entire event.
“As soon as I paused while singing the second time, it’s amazing that it wasn’t just one person who started singing, the entire crowd at one time picked it up,” she said. “It was incredible — and it was in unison.”
It also left A&M first-year coach Buzz Williams nearly in tears on his postgame radio show.
“I always close my eyes during the national anthem,” Williams said. “The first time there was a problem I wondered what was going on. … She apologized, and then when she couldn’t finish, my eyes were open the whole time. Those in attendance honored her and honored our flag, and that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever been able to feel and see.”
A&M radio analyst John Thornton said a handful of A&M players, led by guard Wendell Mitchell, quickly moved toward Witzkoske as she faltered to protect her from falling. Duc Nguyen, also an A&M former student and executive director of the Miss Southeast Texas organization, was on hand and went on to the floor to help Witzkoske.
“A gentleman sitting close to where Angela was getting treated said that was the most beautiful version of the anthem he’d heard,” Nguyen said. “That moved him and the crowd to continue the singing. It was another example of Aggies helping Aggies.”
Witzkoske returned home safely Saturday and said she was overwhelmed by Facebook messages from random Aggies asking if she was OK.
“I almost cried every time I received a new one,” she said. “They had no idea who I am, but they were just checking on me.”
Witzkoske is scheduled to sing the anthem March 8 at an A&M baseball game, and she wouldn’t miss the return engagement for the world. She added of a most trying time before thousands of fellow Aggies, “I felt that Aggie spirit … there was just so much love and support.”