Jordan Baird to Sing National Anthem

January 29, 2012   ·   1 Comments

by Cody Norman

Photo Credit: John Powell

He has been on American Idol. He performed live for Simon Cowell on the X-Factor. And he will be singing in front of a sold out Patriot Center on Saturday night as the men take on Old Dominion to put an exclamation point on Homecoming week.

Walk-on junior Jordan Baird is a unique talent.

Right out of high school, Baird packed his bags for Orlando in hopes of landing a deal with a major record label. He excelled through four rounds of American Idol before being eliminated and, thus, winding up at Mason where he is pursuing a degree in music.

“Something like that happening right out of high school, it was just a blast,” Baird said. “You can take something away from almost any experience. So that was a really big learning thing for me.”

Despite his lack of playing time for the Patriots, Baird is enjoying the grind of a long basketball season and continues to work hard, preparing himself for the opportunity that he might one day be needed on the floor.

“[College basketball] has been a dream come true,” he said. “We know our place as walk-ons. But just because you know your place doesn’t mean you can’t be working for something more.”

On Saturday evening, Baird will be called upon to sing the National Anthem before the Patriots take on the Old Dominion Monarchs. The sold out Patriot Center will be the second-most people he has ever performed for but says he will not be nervous during the song.

“The singing part isn’t what’s nerve-racking,” he said. “The two minutes leading up will be the nerve racking part. But it will be great. I’m looking forward to it.”

Mike Morrison, Ryan Pearson Take Their Talents to Radio

Throughout their successful careers for the men’s basketball team, seniors Mike Morrison and Ryan Pearson have always worn their emotions on their sleeves. As entertainers, Pearson and Morrison interact with the crowd during games and seemingly feed off the crowd’s noise to win basketball games in the Patriot Center.

They talk to the Platoon and the Green Machine. They talk to each other and direct their teammates. They talk to opponents.

And, now, they have been talking live for WGMU Radio, serving as the color commentators for George Malenich for women’s basketball games.

“I was offered to do it,” Morrison said. “And, as a communication major, I thought it would be some good experience and fun at the same time.”

Morrison called the game as the women defeated Towson 78-54 on Thursday night.

Malenich, who has been doing play-by-play for 12 years, has enlisted the services of former players including Rob Anderson, Gabe Norwood and Luke Hancock to help him call games. This year he chose Pearson and Morrison, two of the biggest supporters of Coach Jeri Porter and he team.

“Mike has never met a mic he didn’t like,” Malenich said. ”He did a great job.”

Though he hopes to pursue a career in basketball, Morrison says he just wants to stay around sports as long as possible. He would consider working in radio if that kept him around the industry.

“If you listened to it, I thought we did a pretty good job,” Morrison said. “We worked well together. I think I might be able to get a job next year doing it.”