Through the years, we've all heard the Star Spangled Banner innumerable times. We've heard renditions that were just okay and fell into the past to be forgotten, we've heard renditions that were special to us for sentimental reasons, and we've heard a few renditions that went down in the books as... non-examples.
But it's much more rare that we witness renditions of the anthem that can really be called great. So we submit for your consideration: Whitney Houston's performance before the 1991 Super Bowl.
From the video on YouTube:
"Among the annals of national anthems as a prelude to sporting events, few have topped the one delivered by Whitney Houston before Super Bowl XXV in 1991 in Tampa. A woman, her incredible voice and the bare minimum of extraneous notes. Her rendition came at a particularly patriotic time, just after the onset of the Persian Gulf War, and was released as a single. It was re-released after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Houston donated all proceeds to charity. She ranks among the best of all-time because of the circumstances and ... that voice."