Very few people in this world get to perform in front of a crowd of more than 30,000 people, but Westlock’s Ben Kellert can now add his name to that list.
Kellert had the opportunity to stand at midfield at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton this past Friday to sing O Canada at the beginning of the Edmonton Eskimos’ exhibition game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Although the Roughriders sent the home crowd away disappointed, for Kellert, the whole experience was a thrill.
“I can’t even express with words,” he said on Saturday evening after having a day to digest what happened. “It was pretty amazing. I can’t even explain it. It was just the most amazing thing every.”
Not only did Kellert get to sing O Canada, he was also invited into the media centre between the third and fourth quarters to sing the Eskimos fight song alongside former radio announcer Bryan Hall.
Kellert has been an Eskimos fan ever since his mother Hattie introduced him to the team, listening to games on the radio before finally getting a TV.
His fandom led him to be a part of two big moments in Eskimos history.
“I was actually in the very last game at Clarke Stadium and the very first game in Commonwealth Stadium,” he said.
As a lifelong Eskimos fan, Kellert had always wanted the chance to sing the national anthem before a home game. However, he never knew how to go about trying to achieve that dream.
Then, a few weeks ago, he received an Eskimos fan mailing that talked about how the club was looking for anthem singers. Naturally, Kellert applied, and was one of only 30 people chosen to audition for the opportunity to sing at one of 10 home games this season.
He did his audition, and then played the waiting game to see whether he had been successful.
“I got an e-mail a week ago Tuesday (June 4), which basically notified me that I was one of the 10,” he said.
Although he was only selected for an exhibition game, Kellert said it was “nonetheless exciting” to be given the honour.
“There’s an opportunity to stand on a piece of grass I’ve been wanting to stand on all my life,” he said. “It was a dream come true.”
Leading up to the game, Kellert received many congratulations and well wishes from friends, family and community members. However, there was one note of congratulations that came from a somewhat unlikely source — former Eskimos kicker Gary Lefebvre, who sent Kellert a message on Facebook.
“He put in there that he’s going to be in the stands cheering me on,” Kellert said. “It’s like a reversed role here. I went to the games when he was playing and cheered him on; he was my hero and my idol, and so now to have him in the stands cheering me on …
“It was a super cool experience, and one I will never ever forget.”
