Brooklyn Cheese Purveyor To Sing National Anthem At Nets Game

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- An opera-trained cheese purveyor is getting ready for his moment in the spotlight: Singing the national anthem at a Brooklyn Nets basketball game.

Patrick Watson, the owner of Stinky Bklyn in Carroll Gardens, will face about 15,000 sports fans Monday night at the Barclays Center.

The last time he performed before an audience was in 2006 when he opened the specialty cheese shop with his wife, who is also a singer.

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When the arena opened in September, it had 44 national anthem spots to fill for the season.

When Petra Pope, a senior vice president for event marketing with the Brooklyn Nets, heard Watson's audition tape she was instantly wowed, the New York Times reported.

Watson, who grew up in Cape Cod, Mass. and has lived in Brooklyn for 16 years, said singing has been a passion of his since childhood.

"It's pretty awesome," Watson told 1010 WINS. "It is a childhood dream to be able to do this...it's a dream come true."

Watson said if he's invited back for the playoffs, he and his wife could do a duet.

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