HAMILTON –– “The Great” Ricky Osborne stood at midcourt Wednesday night at Colgate University, wearing a familiar maroon. He delivered a performance that had Colgate officials talking.
It wasn’t related to the Division I men’s basketball game; it was before that.
Osborne, a McGraw junior, sang the national anthem before Colgate and Navy squared off in a Patriot League game, at the request of Colgate men’s basketball coach Matt Langel.
Osborne has been singing the national anthem before McGraw sporting events since last year. He had agreed to do it with a partner at first, but has since taken the reins as the go-to vocalist before games.
“I started last year because I was told I’d be singing with someone else,” Osborne said. “At the last moment they said they couldn’t do it, so I did it by myself and it wasn’t too bad. So I kept doing it.”
McGraw Athletic Director John D’Antonio contacted Madison Elia last year, the school’s music instructor and Osborne’s vocal coach, to see if there was any interest from students in an effort to get students more interested in the school’s athletics.
“Ricky jumped on the opportunity and the rest is history,” D’Antonio said.
Osborne said seeing people he cares about supporting him helped him get over the initial anxiety.
“It was just knowing that people I love –– my friends, family –– are all out there cheering me on,” Osborne said.
Osborne caught Langel’s eye, and ear, on Jan. 21, as the McGraw Eagles took on Hamilton, where Langel’s son was on the bench.
The Colgate head coach, in his 14th season, doesn’t often get out to see his children –– Luke plays for the Hamilton boys varsity team and Logan plays for the girls varsity team –– during his season. It was just a coincidence.
“It’s one of my favorite things in this world to do, to go watch them,” Langel said. “They all work hard at it and to be able to go support them and watch them and their teammates play is something I always look forward to.”
After hearing Osborne perform and spending an hour on the drive home thinking about it, Langel contacted Hamilton officials to get in touch with Osborne.
“As we’ve built a championship-caliber program here, you’re always trying to have your program be the very best it can be,” Langel said. “When it comes to game execution and fan environment, we added courtside seats and you have a choice if someone’s going to perform the national anthem or you’re going to hook up the iPhone and play the recording. It sounds a little bit simplistic, but I want Colgate basketball and anybody who’s coming to watch us play to be like, ‘Man, that was as first class as it possibly could be.’”
Osborne was stunned to get the call.
“Really, it was just shock,” Osborne said. “I didn’t really know what to feel at that moment. Then after, I was really excited.”
The McGraw junior rehearsed the song on his ride to Hamilton and tried to stay calm.
“On the way here I was just humming it through my head to make sure I was ready,” Osborne said.
Osborne began singing in the fourth grade, when he transferred to McGraw from the Cortland school district. He has stuck with is since, thanks to Elia’s support and approach to the art.
“It was my vocal teacher, Mrs. Elia,” Osborne said. “She made it really enjoyable.”
“His vocal progression has been awesome to witness,” Elia said. “I’ve been able to be in the corner and cheer him on every step of the way. I had him in eighth grade and his technicality, his musicality has really blossomed over the last few years. It’s been really cool to see and witness the progress being made.”
Elia was pleased to see Osborne volunteer to sing at basketball and volleyball games, given the unnerving nature of being the one standing at center court singing.
“It’s the hardest to take that initial leap out there,” Elia said. “The fact that he was able to do it by himself, his confidence has soared from there.”
Not only did Osborne he get to sing on the court, but his performance was shouted out on the ESPN+ broadcast of the game.
“I think this is the first time something like this has happened since I’ve been at McGraw,” Elia said. “This is my fourth year and I’ve had Ricky all four years. It’s a really big deal. It’s really exciting for the community, for him, his family and friends and for all of us.”
