The Extra Point: Arizona's Family Sports Podcast
Sep 24, 2026 · 20 min · 8 segments
It was the National Anthem heard round the world. Dr. Jesse McGuire played the Star-Spangled Banner at Chase Field on Saturday when his trumpet malfunctioned. McGuire grabbed the microphone and…
Jesse McGuireGuest
Mark McCluneHost
Okay, in a nutshell, I'm playing on a very expensive trumpet, a custom-made trumpet, and, uh, the last thing I thought was gonna happen was for the valve to seize up.
So a third of the way through The Star-Spangled Banner, and you all who know me, you know how I play it.
And y- if you're watching the, uh, the video of it, you can hear me clicking the valves, trying to free this, this valve up, and it did not move.
Uh, Donna and I watched the video, and we, we timed the time that it took for, uh, the valve to stop and for me to reach for a microphone and be, and continue the anthem.
Imagine yourself, if you have five s- five seconds to make a decision that will change your life.
Uh, the reason that it was so seamless is because I prepare for scenarios like that all the time.
Whenever I practice, I'm pref- I'm preparing for some kind of unknown, unplanned contingency, and that was one.
I've had sticky valves, but never out there in the middle of a baseball field in front of my hometown with 50,000 people watching me do this thing live, and it happened.
I mean, I know all four verses of the national anthem, The Star- Star-Spangled Banner.
And I'm also, I also have perfect pitch, so I knew where to, how to come in to, uh, sing that song and finish it.
Also have a, an internal cadence, so where I was in the song was already locked into my brain and in my chest.
And the rest of it was just all a matter of picking up the microphone and singing in the right key and coming in on the right key at the right time.
And it, it, uh, it, it, it's, that has gone around the o- the entire Earth since Su- uh, since Sunday morning.
Okay, in a nutshell, I'm playing on a very expensive trumpet, a custom-made trumpet, and, uh, the last thing I thought was gonna happen was for the valve to seize up.
So a third of the way through The Star-Spangled Banner, and you all who know me, you know how I play it.
And y- if you're watching the, uh, the video of it, you can hear me clicking the valves, trying to free this, this valve up, and it did not move.
Uh, Donna and I watched the video, and we, we timed the time that it took for, uh, the valve to stop and for me to reach for a microphone and be, and continue the anthem.
Imagine yourself, if you have five s- five seconds to make a decision that will change your life.
Uh, the reason that it was so seamless is because I prepare for scenarios like that all the time.
Whenever I practice, I'm pref- I'm preparing for some kind of unknown, unplanned contingency, and that was one.
I've had sticky valves, but never out there in the middle of a baseball field in front of my hometown with 50,000 people watching me do this thing live, and it happened.
I mean, I know all four verses of the national anthem, The Star- Star-Spangled Banner.
And I'm also, I also have perfect pitch, so I knew where to, how to come in to, uh, sing that song and finish it.
Also have a, an internal cadence, so where I was in the song was already locked into my brain and in my chest.
And the rest of it was just all a matter of picking up the microphone and singing in the right key and coming in on the right key at the right time.
And it, it, uh, it, it, it's, that has gone around the o- the entire Earth since Su- uh, since Sunday morning.
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