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Finally, it was our anthem By LOGAN NEILL © St. Petersburg Times, published April 1, 1998 T. PETERSBURG -- It takes only about 90 seconds to render The Star-Spangled Banner, which may be why, save for a performance by a big-name singing star, it has become such a trifling formality in the fast-paced world of professional sports. But, Tuesday night, the grand old song was, like everything else for the inaugural game of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, something bright and new. With the spring-green carpet of Tropicana Field providing a brilliant backdrop, singer Belinda Womack and her assembled 75-voice choir dressed in blue, garnet and white robes -- many of whom sang in churches that once stood where baseball is now the star -- gave it all they had: Oh say can you see, by the dawn's early light. It was glorious, momentous and, most of all, a compellingly appropriate countdown to the opening pitch: the home team, being ushered in by down-home harmony. It did require quite a bit of focus to hear it all. Most of the time, Womack's powerful voice overwhelmed the chorus, which didn't have the advantage of microphones. No matter, really. The pride and righteousness was right there. Devil Rays management had at one time considered bringing in a ringer like Jimmy Buffett or LeAnn Rimes to sing the national anthem. But they smartly stuck with a local effort. Womack was asked to lead members of three St. Petersburg churches -- First Baptist Institutional Church, Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church and the Prayer Tower Church of God in Christ -- all of which had been forced to move in the mid-1980s to make way for construction of the stadium, as well as members of her own Bayshore Faith Singers, based in Tampa. Her arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner was flavored with the natural vim and spirit that gospel voices bring to a song. The crowd loved it. For the land of the free, and the home of the brave. The finale, which segued the choir's swelling voices with a rain of fireworks and confetti, provided a satisfying end to the brief musical moment. Sure sports fans, it was just the national anthem, but somehow it was more than just one more run-through of Francis Scott Key's lone memorable melody. And for Tampa Bay's forever-longing baseball fans, this time it belonged to us. Business | Citrus | Commentary | Entertainment Hernando | Floridian | Obituaries | Pasco | Sports State | Tampa Bay | World & Nation © Copyright 1998 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.