Cowboys Crooner: DeMarcus Ware to Sing Anthem at Hall of Fame
If all goes really well for DeMarcus Ware in the first week of this coming August, the Pro Football Hall of Fame won't be the only Ohio landmark honoring his accomplishments.
The former Dallas Cowboys linebacker and future Canton enshrinee DeMarcus Ware will put in a de facto audition for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland as part of the induction ceremonies. It was announced this week that Ware would sing the national anthem at the annual Hall of Fame Game exhibition, the first preseason game that unofficially kicks off the NFL season.
This year's matchup features the local Cleveland Browns battling the New York Jets on Aug. 3.
Ware's showcase will be part of an accoladed weekend for the former Cowboy and Denver Bronco, as he's set to join fellow star-bearing defender Chuck Howley in gridiron immortality. Having retired after the 2016 season, Ware reaches Canton in his second year on the ballot.
While renowned, perhaps even infamous, for his defensive antics, Ware has always had a connection to music, notably detailing his time in a rhythm and blues band known as "Mirage" in a January 2016 essay published on The Players' Tribune.
"Music has always been my first love," Ware wrote. "I grew up in a big family in Alabama. One of my uncles, Uncle Willie, used to play the guitar really well, and that’s how I first got exposed to music. Every now and then, Uncle Willie would come over to our house, and we could usually count on him to walk in carrying his “famous” guitar."
"He’d sit down somewhere comfortable, he’d make sure it was all tuned up right and then he’d just play. I mean, for hours. He’d just … play."
While Ware will get to show off his pipes, the weekend will primarily focus on his gridiron exploits: over 12 seasons between Dallas and Denver, Ware amassed 138.5 sacks and earned a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos in 2016. Ware has chosen Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to introduce him for his induction, which will occur two days after the Browns and Jets' preseason clash.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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