CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you've ever wanted to know what over 74,000 people singing the national anthem sounds like, then here's your chance.
The record-setting crowd at Charlotte FC's inaugural home match had a moment of synergy during the singing of the national anthem Saturday evening at Bank of America Stadium.
After fans noticed technical issues as "The Voice" winner Michelle Brooks-Thompson began singing, it didn't take them long to join in, reverberating throughout the stadium.
The now-viral moment was captured by WCNC Charlotte's Ashley Stroehlein, who was in the stands during the national anthem.
Brooks-Thompson told Stroehlein she didn't realize the full extent of what happened. She knew her microphone went out, but thought it came back. She said in the moment, she thought the crowd was singing along because they loved the performance.
"Get back to the green room, and the coordinator on the field was giving me thanks and praise for handling it all so professional and I'm like, 'It's OK, you know, the mic went out and it came back in and I performed the rest of the song, they heard me!'" Brooks-Thompson said. "And he just looked at me and said, 'No, they didn't hear you.'"
Brooks-Thompson said the moment was special to her despite the technical issues.
"Me just being a part of that moment, it was something that unified the people in the arena -- even if it was for a minute thirty seconds, we were together as one," she said. "The amount of fans that came up to me at the end, some had tears in their eyes, some were just so excited that they were a part of that moment. That meant more to me than anything else, because peace and unity, that is something our country needs right now."
Charlotte FC had sold roughly 73,500 tickets for Saturday, and before the game got underway, the team revealed they had broken the MLS record with 74,479 fans in attendance.
Earlier in the week, Charlotte FC said it has sold enough tickets to break the MLS attendance record on Saturday against LA Galaxy. The record crowd for any MLS match was 72,584 prior to Saturday.
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