Baseball fans hail ‘greatest national anthem of all time’ ahead of Yankees-Giants on MLB opening night
Baseball fans got goosebumps after a stirring recitation of the national anthem on MLB’s opening night.
The New York Yankees traveled to the San Francisco Giants to raise the curtain on the new season, and retired US soldier General Wilson was given the honor of singing The Star-Spangled Banner.
The Yankees went on to record an impressive 7-0 road win after Wilson threatened to steal the show before first pitch.
His performance was met with praise from supporters, one of whom asked: ‘Was this the greatest national anthem of all time?’
Another called it the ‘best anthem in years’ and added that the rendition gave them goosebumps, while one fan wrote on social media: ‘Real goosebumps.’ Best way to start the 2026 season!’
The performance ended with a military flyover and included a drone pyrotechnics display, with the American flag appearing in the sky above Oracle Park.
Baseball fans got goosebumps after a stirring recitation of the national anthem
Drone pyrotechnic smoke show creates American flag during national anthem
New York Yankees travel to San Francisco Giants for season opener
‘Man Killed the National Anthem. Wow! What a powerful voice. It ended beautifully!’ one fan said. ‘The American flag drone display was pretty awesome too.’
Wilson’s performance was featured on Netflix as the streaming giant aired its first live Major League Baseball game.
The broadcast, anchored by former ESPN host Elle Duncan, featured Giants legend Barry Bonds, WWE wrestler John Cena and former college baseball player NFL quarterback Jameis Winston.
Unfortunately for Netflix, many fans criticized it. Coverage of the season opener.
One critic wrote on X: ‘Netflix broadcast a baseball game to the entire country in a ridiculous marketing move at the start of the MLB season.
The streaming service’s special coverage of MLB’s opener was used to promote several shows on Wednesday, including another season of Netflix’s Addams Family spin-off.
“Poor decision to put the MLB opener on Netflix,” another added. ‘[For] for the first time in thirty years [don’t] Let’s see the opening day. Thanks guys.’
Like NFL and NBA fans who are under pressure to add other subscription streaming services to their expensive cable plans, baseball fans were unhappy with the prospect of a new monthly bill.
New York Yankees started the new season with an impressive 7-0 road win
Elle Duncan and Jameis Winston were part of the Netflix broadcast team on Wednesday night
Many refused to watch, instead paying for plans that range from $7.99 to $24.99 per billing cycle.
“Even though I pay the baseball app’s annual fee, I’m looking forward to not being able to watch my Giants play the Yanks on opening day tonight thanks to Netflix,” one fan wrote to X, referring to MLB.TV’s $29.99 monthly plan.
‘MLB is as bad as football. If you really want to see all the games you’ll need to have 4 different streaming services.’
Many viewers had issues with Netflix’s version of the score error. Digital icon that displays important details such as score.
‘What in God’s name is this Netflix score error,’ asked a fan of the icon at the bottom of the screen.
“This scoring mistake from Netflix bothers me,” another added. One reviewer seemed to have an issue with the small number of steps at the bottom of the icon: ‘This score bug made me squint.’
