Kansas City’s biggest non baseball World Series slip-up?
Call it a tie, between opera singer Joyce DiDonato – who warbled out the National Anthem opera style before Game 7 – and Molle Chevrolet in Blue Springs – that laid a pre Game One jinx on the Royals that depending on how superstitious you are may have cost the team the title.
In the case of Molle, the company purchased a full page ad in the World Series section of the Kansas City Star declaring in bold letters on a Royals blue backdrop, “If Kansas City Wins Tonight, We Will Pay Your Sales Tax Tomorrow!*”
Of course the Royals were slaughtered 7-1.
As for that asterisk at the end of Molle’s offer, apparently the car dealer was hedging its bet in case the Kansas City Roller Warriors or some other lesser local team slipped in a win that night.
“Kansas City – meaning our Major League baseball team,” reads Molle’s caveat.
In the case of DiDonato – a Grammy winning opera singer from Prairie Village – her anthem may have sounded a tad fluttery for some tastes, but it was her off-camera exit that proved most entertaining.
“Opera Singer takes tumble after national anthem, handles it like a pro,” reads the headline on Fox Sports.
“On a night Madison Bumgarner further cemented his legacy as one of this era’s biggest money pitchers and Giants manager Bruce Bochy booked his ticket to the Hall of Fame, it was an opera singer who stole the show at Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday night. And it happened before a pitch was ever thrown,” the story begins.
“Opera star Joyce DiDonato put quite a big checkmark on her bucket list, taking the field at Kauffman Stadium to sing the national anthem. And DiDonato did just fine, belting out ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’
“But, as the longtime Royals fan from Kansas walked off the field, she tripped in the batter’s box. She managed to catch herself, but after regaining her balance, the Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano took another step or two and fell to the dirt, as dramatically as she might on the stages of the world’s greatest opera houses.”
Royals fans cheered the 45 year-old as she gamely took an on-the-knees bow.
There’s more.
Van Horn antes up!
“In another twist, Joyce last night revealed that her new-born great-niece is the baby at the centre of the trending ‘World Series Baby’ story of a Kansas City couple who missed Game 1 to have their baby but returned to Game 6 with their new-born,” DiDonato’s web site revealed.
In addition to all of that DiDonato became embroiled in a World Series Twitter war with bass baritone Christian Van Horn who plays Oroveso in San Francisco Opera‘s new production of Bellini’s Norma.
“It’s too bad Joyce DiDonato won’t be needed for game 7 since the SF Giants will be wrapping this up in 6,” Van Horn tweeted.
He then challenged DiDonato to a bet whereby if the Royals lost Game 6 she would “mention to ALL (her) 20 million Twitter followers that they might follow the great bass,” Van Horn tweeted.
For his part if the Giants lost Game 6, “I’ll wear an ‘I Heart Joyce DiDonato and the Royals’ t-shirt on the stage of the SF Opera,” Van Horn tweeted
“Done! But I’ll need photographic evidence,” Di Donato fired back.
Cool story!
🙂
Yawn.