So, a buddy of mine calls and asks what I'm doing on Saturday (March 14th) night. I knew I was performing in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Elmhurst, Illinois with my friend and all-around-good-guy, U.S. Congressman Peter Roskam at noon, but I had the night free. He offered me two tickets to the Chicago Bulls VS the New Orleans Hornets game, and I accepted his offer. When I got the tickets, I checked them online and realized they were 3-rows behind the West basket. Wowzer!!!!

The next morning a little light bulb went off in my head. I thought; since U.S. Army and Army Public Affairs have been so good to me lately, I'll return the favor. I called Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl at APA and asked him for an Army football jersey to wear at the game. From watching Bulls games my whole life, I knew the camera would show the section I was sitting in often, very clearly, for all Bulls or Hornets fans to see; but instead of seeing "John 3:16" a little off to the side, you'd see a guy in an Army jersey.

LTC Bleichwehl suggested that I call Lt. Col John "Ed" Box at Chicago Army Recruiting, who I was with at the Auto Show. LTC Box connected me with my buddy Tim Turpin, and when I got back to Barrington after the St .Patty's Day parade at 3:30 in the afternoon, Tim met me at Starbucks and delivered the jersey. We both agreed it was a good gamble, and it was even better for me because I got an official US Army football jersey from the Army All-America Bowl!

I asked my daughter Danielle to be my date. She had never been to a Bulls game, and what a better game to take her too? We were sitting 3-rows from the action. Honestly, at $145.00 a ticket, plus food and parking, I'd have to be a part of the "Stimulus Package" to be able to afford those tickets for one night, let alone season tickets. But on this special night, I had a free parking pass, and two free tickets, not to mention a very cool U.S. Army jersey.

I showed Danielle the Michael Jordan statue on the East side of the building; she took some photos, like most of the fans did, and we proceeded into the United Center to find our seats.

SIDEBAR: This next part is true. It's a Forrest Gump moment; one of many I have had since September 11, 2001 ... you may not believe this, but below are the photo's taken by Danielle to prove it!

After sitting in our seats for a few minute, a male cheerleader came up to me and asked, "Would you like to be a part of a singing contest called "Sing 4 Your Supper"  tonight?" He never asked if I was a professional singer and I'm guessing that in the U.S. Army jersey I was wearing, I looked more like a football player than a singer. Maybe if my hair was longer, or I was a bit thinner; wearing a leather sport-jacket with a glittery silver scarf, he would have asked me if I was a singer, but the fact is, he asked me if I'd like to be in a singing contest, and that's all he asked. I turned to Danielle, and we both smiled at each other, like two cats who ate the birds, then I turned back to my new friend and said, "Sure."

At the end of the Halftime show, two cheerleaders (not the almost-naked - Love-a-Bulls Cheerleaders, but rather the cheerleaders that shoot the T-shirts into the crowd and monitor all the inner-active games on the court at halftime,  I wasn't that lucky) came up and asked us to come with them. We walked to an exit directly above the official scorers table. They introduced me to a very nice gentleman named Mike. Mike and I were competing in the "Sing 4 Your Supper" contest. Mike was a very nice guy, and I asked him if he was a singer and where he went to high school, to see if I had any sort of advantage; for example, if Mike had gone to a high school where sports were big, he might be a great basketball or baseball player, but not a singer, but Mike said he did in fact sing in high school and he went to school in Philly!

"Yikes," I thought; "Ohhhh Noooo, he may be another Frankie Avalon or some kind of cool singer" ... then he tells me he graduated from a school in Detroit ... even worse ... he's a "Motown" guy. He might even sing like "The Temptations!" I began to second guess myself, but at least Mike wasn't a "hot "looking girl or an adorable child; I should be able to hold my own.

The way the contest/game is played, is that we both have to sing the same song. After we both sing, the audience judges the contest by applause. The song we were asked to sing was "You've Lost That Loving Feeling," a hit song originally by the great "Righteous Brothers." I felt very comfortable, seeing how my band, Jade 50's did this song about 100,000 times over our long career. It had been a while since I sang it, but singing is like riding a bike to me, if you did it a while ago, it should be easy to pickup and remember. Right before the contest, I did remember that the original song began with that incredible deep voice of Bill Medley singing "You never close your eyes, anymore when I kiss your lips ..." I also knew that if they were using a Karaoke CD, there has to be an intro ... and I was right ... it was an 8-beat intro with the vocals beginning on the 7th beat. I explained that to Mike, and I even showed him a few times, but I think that freaked him out a bit. They let me listen to the intro on an Ipod one more time, and I counted it our for Mike once again.

Well, before we knew it, the Bulls called at time out, they grabbed Mike by the arm, and the announcer, Tommy Edwards, said, "It's time to Sing 4 Your Supper!!!" Tommy introduced Mike first and then me.

Now, I want you know, they warned us, it was gonna happen fast, AND, if you never sang in front of 25,000 people before, it might be a little scary.

Mike looked a little scared, but had a big smile on his face, and all of a sudden the camera's were on him, everyone could see him on the HUGE screens in the arena and Tommy Edwards said, "here's Mike," and the music began. I stood behind Mike, out of the camera shot and counted the intro for him, but he missed the cue by 3 beats, and then missed the key ... by a lot.

Then it was my turn ...

                 

I got a big round of applause because of the U.S.Army jersey ... I even heard a few "hooah's" even before the music began. Then the music started and I sang, and I caught the intro perfectly ... "You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips." 

The crowd gave me a huge cheer. I continued ... "And there's no tenderness, anymore in your finger tips." I wanted to make sure I DID NOT look into the camera's or at the screen like Mike did, to me that looked tacky ... a huge advantage of going last. I sang to the crowd ... "It's getting hard not to show it" and I held the microphone to the crowd as they all responded "Baaaa-by"

"But baby. Baby I know it ..." then it seemed like 25,000 people were singing right with me ...

               

"You've lost, that lovin feeling, Ohhh that lovin' feeling. You've lost that lovin' feeling now it's gone, gone gone ...." And Tommy Edwards stopped the music and said, "OK let's vote." They asked Mike and I to stand next to each other and Tommy said, "First let's hear it for Mike," and the crowd gave Mike a very nice round of "polite" applause.

Then Tommy said, "Now, let's hear it for Joe." I raised my hands to spur on the voting (they asked both of us to do that when it was our turn and the crowd was voting) and it was a great round of applause with cheering and "Hooah" and even some "Go Army" chants thrown in.

               

Well, I won dinner for two at McDonalds and so did the entire section I was sitting in. As Danielle and I walked to our seats, people were coming up to us saying things like "Hey, singer, that was awesome," or "Hey it's the singer, go Army!" I felt like Adam Sandler in "The Wedding Singer;" "Hey wedding singer!" Friends from high school made it down to our section to talk, catch up a bit, and laugh with us.

But the best part of the night was when we greeted three young, almost-totally-blind Army Veterans, who were at the game, taking a break from rehab in the Blind Ward at Edward Hines VA Hospital near Maywood, Illinois; people I never counted on seeing at the Bulls game. They were so proud that I was wearing an Army jersey, and they began to thank ME for doing that. I had to stop them and say, "Guys ... I sing, ... that's all I do. YOU are the real heroes," then with my arm around Danielle I told them, " My daughters and I sleep in peace every night because of what you did. I can't begin to repay you for your service to our great country." and I kissed their heads.

Now I was approached by one Sailor, two Airman, three Marines and two Coast Guardsmen who wished/wanted me to be wearing their colors and name on my chest ... and I promise I will; but that night, I owed the U.S. Army a lot for inviting me to the Union League Club events, the Auto Show, the Army Birthday event in Daley Plaza, and the September 11th Memorial Ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Chicago in 2008 - 2009.

To all of out Troops and Veterans ... from the bottom of my heart ... THANK YOU for keeping America peaceful since September 11th.

By the way ... the Chicago Bulls creamed the Hornets 97 - 79 ... daaaaaaaaaa Bulls da Bulls da Bulls da Bulls ...

 

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