44 Years Later, José Feliciano Now Cheered in Miami for Singing National Anthem

Apr 4, 2012
9:58 PM

Tonight in Miami, during the Opening Day ceremonies between the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals, José Feliciano sang a rendition of the national anthem that was greeted by cheers at the ballpark.

In 1968, a similar rendition at the World Series in Detroit was roundly criticized by many Americans, almost ending Feliciano’s career as a singer. Our take on tonight’s performance? Miami cheered you, José, and so do we. And yes, Feliciano’s version tonight, given the historical context, won us over for its symbolism, as opposed to what The Fray sang this week at the NCAA Championship.

Here is a YouTube video of tonight’s performance in Miami. Feliciano appears about one minute into the broadcast.

Others on Twitter were not so kind. They focused on how the song should only be sung one way and some Puerto Rican accounts called out Feliciano for singing the US anthem. Screw the haters. We loved the version because we know our baseball history and the history of why Feliciano got a second chance tonight in Miami.