'Crushed It!' Watch What Happened After Trumpeter's Instrument Glitched During the National Anthem

…. As the story is told by MLB.com, it was a special game for the D-backs because they were looking back on their magical 2001 season when they won the World Series in seven games. In Game 7 of that series, which was played against the Yankees nearly two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the trumpeter, who is considered a good luck charm of sorts for the Diamondbacks, played the National Anthem for the fans who were in attendance for that game.

It's something McGuire has done every few years since then. But on Saturday, things went a bit off-key for the trumpet player when his instrument glitched midway through his performance. What happened next was the stuff of legends:

The 68-year-old, who was once the lead trumpeter for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra of New York City and for the band Tower of Power, was even given a World Series ring for his efforts.
With the team commemorating the 25th anniversary of the championship Saturday with most of the players from that squad in attendance, along with a sellout crowd, McGuire was tabbed to once again perform the national anthem.
About halfway through, though, McGuire's trumpet malfunctioned. And after one attempt to correct it, McGuire instead grabbed the microphone and sang the second half of the song.

And not only did he sing it, but he also walked the field as he did so like a boss - with his trumpet in hand, something you don't see most National Anthem singers do.

Watch:

Dr. Jesse McGuire’s anthem couldn’t have encapsulated the Diamondbacks 2026 season more. pic.twitter.com/oELyD1yhgX
— PHNX Diamondbacks (@PHNX_Dbacks) September 20, 2026

Nice touch: he got the audience to join in; bring us together

UPDATE: I just found this report by Chris Queen, and it’s even more powerful:

…. Let’s get the picture: a hot late-summer afternoon. A packed ballpark. Fans rising to their feet to honor our nation. Dr. Jesse McGuire steps to the mic, trumpet in hand.

McGuire is no stranger to musical moments. The former lead trumpeter for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and a one-time member of the Tower of Power — that legendary session horn section — McGuire is a masterful musician.

McGuire played the anthem before Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, and the Arizona Diamondbacks consider him a good luck charm of sorts. The team even gave him a ring after winning the World Series that year. McGuire was there to play The Star-Spangled Banner as part of the 25th anniversary celebration on Saturday.

The national anthem began as beautifully as it could. McGuire’s notes rang out before the reverent crowd. Suddenly, things went wrong. McGuire’s horn failed, and after another attempt to keep going, he improvised in a way that even the best Hollywood scriptwriter couldn’t devise.

I have to admit that I like his vocal performance as well as I like his trumpeting. His voice might even be better in my eyes.

For what it’s worth, McGuire also sang “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch. What a consummate professional, and you’d better believe that commenters noticed.

As I noted earlier in this piece, Saturday’s game was a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of McGuire’s Game 7 anthem rendition. That World Series had been one for the ages in terms of patriotic musical moments.

Just weeks after the country had endured the horrors of 9/11, the wounds were still raw, and emotions were still near the surface. Cronkite News captured McGuire’s reaction to playing in 2001 earlier this year:

“After the anthem, on the way back to the dugout, I almost didn’t make it, because the magnitude of what I had just done hit me all at once,” McGuire said, noting he still remembers the exact spot his knees almost gave out – three and a half feet off the chalk line on third base.
The series kicked off Oct. 27, 2001, just weeks after 9/11, the tragedy and timing of the series not lost on the players, performers or fans.
Even after 25 years, McGuire still remembers the little details of his performance – including exactly where his knees almost gave out after the performance when he realized the significance of the moment.
McGuire, 68, said that his brothers who served in Vietnam were on his mind. He also thought of playing the anthem for Game 7 as just another gig until the moment ended.
“It did several things in the span of two minutes,” he told Cronkite News. “I’ve never seen a song that can take you and put you on your knees and bring you to your feet in the same song that quick.”
“All I saw during the entire anthem was the roof of that place, and the stealth bomber coming, and that place went nuts, man, when the stealth bomber showed up, and it was all I could do to stay in there,” he added.
In 2001, McGuire played the national anthem to a nation that was proving its resilience. A quarter century later, he captured the awe of an MLB crowd again by demonstrating one man’s grace and calm under pressure.