As a member of Pearl Jam, Mike McCready has played in front of huge crowds in famous venues all over the world. As a Seattle native and sports fan, McCready has also played a Jimi Hendrix-inspired version of the national anthem at several sporting events over the years, including Seahawks and Mariners games.
But despite all of that, the longtime Pearl Jam guitarist admits he is a little nervous about playing the anthem before Wednesday night's opener, which will kick off the regular season.
"It's way scary in a way, because I want to do it right and I don't want to mess it up, so that's going through my head every time," McCready said during a recent visit to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. "I've done it a bunch of times, I just want to do it how I do it, and hopefully it means something and I do it right, so there's pressure there."
McCready, wearing a Washington Innocence Project T-shirt, was at Seahawks headquarters to record a promo video that will be played during the game to promote the local nonprofit and the weekly 50/50 raffle that benefits the Seahawks' Spirit of 12 partners. The Washington Innocence Project, which provides free legal and investigative services to help free people wrongly convicted of crimes, is one of the 12 local nonprofits the Seahawks will be supporting this year through the Spirit of 12 partnerships, which focuses their efforts on five pillars of youth empowerment, social justice, military, future of football and community response. McCready's wife, Ashley O'Connor McCready, is the Washington Innocence Project's board president, and as a member of a band that has a long history of philanthropy and social justice, McCready appreciates seeing a local team use its platform in a positive way as well.
"We're very humbly excited about it, because it sheds a light on the Washington Innocence Project, and it gives it another level of legitimacy being tied in with the Seahawks, so we're super stoked about it," McCready said. "It's great. If you have a spotlight, and you have stars—musicians or a star quarterback or whatever—people will listen to them, or you'll get some press because of who you are, so why not do something to help? I think it's fabulous that the Seahawks are doing that. Growing up, that's what I learned, and I think our band learned that early."