Pop diva would've bombed at McKechnie Field

Erika Quartuccio has little in common with Christina Aguilera.

She's 18, a Bayshore High School senior and works at Publix.

Samantha Rankin has little in common with Christina Aguilera.

She's a 12-year-old at King Middle School.

Chris Eisenberg has little in common with Christina Aguilera.

He's a 13-year-old at Brookside Middle in Sarasota.

The three teenagers have something nice in common with each other, though, something the pop diva wishes she had last weekend.

They were able to sings our national anthem flawlessly and reverently in their unique way at McKechnie Field during Saturday's auditions for spring training games and the Florida State League.

Which is way more than can be said about Aguilera, who forgot the words at the Super Bowl and ended up shrieking her way through a national embarrassment before 100 million TV viewers.

McKechnie isn't comparable to Cowboy Stadium, of course, yet it presented its own challenges.

The empty 6,000-seat ballpark has quirky acoustics and echoes that can throw off a singer.

Steve Ramsey, 30, admired the younger singers ability to overcome those factors. He's sung the Star-Spangled Banner the past two seasons and auditioned again Saturday.
 
"It can be an intimidating venue," Ramsey said. "It's not like singing in the shower."

Forty sang at the auditions. One drew a momentary blank, but started over and finished strong.

That's more than can be said about Christina Aguilera.

She'd have never made the cut at McKechnie Field.