CHARLOTTE, N.C.
The man who used his trumpet to blow a rousing rendition of the national anthem at the Carolina Panthers’ home opener has three words for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick – and they might just surprise you.
“I feel ya,” said Phoenix brass master Dr. Jesse McGuire, 58, as he pounded his left breast with his right fist three times while sitting in a private room deep within Bank of America Stadium, a couple hours before kickoff on Sunday afternoon.
And this is someone who’s had more than a little time to reflect on the sentiment behind “The Star-Spangled Banner” – since his debut at a Phoenix Suns game in 1989, McGuire estimates he has performed the song “about 4,000 times that we can prove.