Father A Great Player, Daughter A Great Singer

She stood on an oval riser with the flag-bearers behind her.

- Brian Heyman

The crowd at MetLife Stadium was on its feet, too, looking down at the woman wearing a No. 75 green and white Jets jersey and carrying a golden voice.

Heather Hill began singing before that game against Jacksonville on the day October kicked off: “Oh say can you see …”

It was impossible to tell by her stirring rendition, but she had felt jittery, wanting to do so well in her third time belting out the national anthem at a Jets game. And this is a professional singer who finished a four-year run on Broadway last fall in “The Phantom of the Opera.”

But it was a Legends Homecoming game and a Ring of Honor day to induct Kevin Mawae, so there were many former Jets on hand. Her father, No. 75, a tackle who was one of the team’s all-time greats, was not. Winston Hill died in 2016 at the age of 74.

“I think I was probably more nervous than I can remember in quite some time,” she said. “It was emotional because my dad wasn’t here. I sang last year at a game. It was not the Homecoming game. But … that was wonderful. But in this game, I’m around people and players I’ve known my whole life.”

Hill proudly represented her dad. She always does.

Mention his name and the love and praise flows freely.

“It’s my honor to talk about him,” Hill said, “because he was a wonderful father, an amazing player and an even greater man, if that’s possible.”

Legendary Jet

It was back in 1963 when this man signed with the AFL’s Jets after being cut by the NFL’s Baltimore Colts, who had drafted the Texan that year in the 11th round out of Texas Southern. He stayed for 14 seasons with the Jets, the first eight as a mobile, 6-4, 270-pound left tackle, in charge of guarding Joe Namath’s blind side, before moving to the opposite side. They both moved on after the 1976 season.