The NFL did a thing ahead of Sunday’s Week 1 games. Instead of having the national anthem play at venues around the league, 26-year-old Juliette Candela sang the anthem from the site of the 9/11 memorial in New York City.
Candela lost her father, John, in the terrorist attacks 20 years ago Saturday. She electrified the football world with her rendition of the anthem. Meanwhile, NFL players around the entire country showed their emotions as a tribute video played a long with her performance.
It was a sight to behold.
It was just on Saturday that the United States paid homage to first responsders and the near 3,000 people who perished on that fateful day 20 years ago.
As for the NFL, it had a role in helping the country return to some sense of normalcy in the days following the attacks. That can’t be lost on this.
Just six years old when her father died while working for Cantor Fitzgerald in the Twin Towers, Candela’s performance was something we won’t forget any time soon.