We're not big on savagely critiquing the failures of a teenage girl, so we won't have too much fun at the expense of Lauren Alaina, "American Idol" Season 10 runner-up who stumbled during her rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" on Thursday in Detroit.
Alaina, 17, suffered through the longest five seconds of her life, pausing midway through the word "twilight" in front of a sold out crowd at Ford Field. Fast forward about 10 seconds into the video for the awkward footage.
Lions and Packers players offered no reaction to the pause, strengthening our argument that players are in a far-off "I must pillage everything" trance minutes before kickoff. Seriously though, Lions defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch has red eyes -- there's no way that dude's thinking about the legacy of Benjamin Franklin.
Of course, people screwing up the national anthem is part of the very fabric of our sports-watching experience. We're not sure Carl Lewis has been seen in public since his fiasco in Jersey back in 1993. Ironically, the Packers were also in the building for the last notable NFL flub, when pop star-turned-talent judge Christina Aguilera got Super Bowl XLV off to a rocky start.
We applaud Alaina for keeping her composure and completing the anthem without further incident. Steven Tyler would be proud.
