INDIANAPOLIS — A group of Indiana health care workers are preparing to share their talent on a national stage Monday.
They will be stepping on the court at Lucas Oil Stadium before the NCAA men’s basketball championship to sing the national anthem.
Riley Hospital physician Dr. Eric Yancy will be a part of the group. He said at first, he thought the call was fake.
“I’m like, 'Oh, OK, this is a prank call. And they said, 'no, we saw some of your work on YouTube,'” Yancy said.
Yancy has sung in plays and at benefit concerts, but never has he mixed his medical profession with his singing career.
He said he is not nervous. He previously sang at the Super Bowl with his college choir.
“Now, I can put that on the bucket list, so to speak. I’ve done a championship and the Super Bowl, so we will see what happens next,” he said.
When Yancy steps on the court Monday, he said he will not only be thinking about the lives lost to COVID-19, but also what the song means to him.
“We still need to strive towards being the 'land of the free' and the 'home of the brave.' We haven’t accomplished that in the way we should. It’s an ideal we should shoot for, but we are not there yet,” he said.
He also hopes this serves as inspiration to kids, especially children of color.
“If you have something that you are comfortable doing, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a scientist, that you can’t be a physician, that you can’t be whatever profession you choose. You can still do what you like doing,” he said. “Just enjoy your life and have fun.”
The group’s first practice is this Saturday. The championship game is Monday at 9 p.m.