Carrie Underwood Wishes Playoff Teams Good Luck as Her Absence on ‘Sunday Night Football’ Has Fans Buzzing

American Songwriter participates in affiliate programs with various companies. Links originating on American Songwriter’s website that lead to purchases or reservations on affiliate sites generate revenue for American Songwriter . This means that American Songwriter may earn a commission if/when you click on or make purchases via affiliate links.

Carrie Underwood was mysteriously absent from the playoffs on Sunday Night Football. Even with her iconic performance missing, she still took a moment to wish the playoff teams luck in their games.

Videos by American Songwriter

Underwood wrote on Twitter/X, “What another great regular season of [NFL] football and being part of [Sunday Night Football] each week! Good luck to all in the playoffs!” A favorite of NFL fans and players alike, Underwood’s weekly performance of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” is a staple during the regular season. Allegedly, she was going to be part of the playoffs as well, but no such luck.

[See Carrie Underwood: REFLECTION Live via StubHub—Tickets Selling Fast]

Fans were irate during the game after Underwood was left out. They were left wondering why, with no answers forthcoming. One fan wrote, “All these NBC games and not one Carrie Underwood opening. Seems a miss.” Another commented, “You can’t call anything “super” like wild card weekend, when they cut Carrie Underwood out of the NBC coverage. They should have played this game on Peacock.”

https://twitter.com/wehmanjonathan/status/1746701244901577115
https://twitter.com/KuberaKyle/status/1746702910560362985

[RELATED: ‘Sunday Night Football’ Fans Irate Over Lack of Carrie Underwood Theme Song for NFL Playoffs]

Carrie Underwood Wishes Playoff Teams Luck, While Fans Are Still Mad She Didn’t Perform the Theme Before the Game

Yet another Carrie Underwood fan wrote, “It’s Sunday night football where is my [Carrie Underwood] at?” They addressed the tweet to the Sunday Night Football on NBC Twitter account. Fans were clearly upset by the change. Underwood herself had alluded to the fact she’s recorded theme songs for the playoffs.

“When we go in to record, we do it all at once,” Underwood told The Morning Mashup last month. “I do the whole main version, but then we go through and pick up all the matchups for each week of regular-season football, and then we go into playoff football. And I then sing every possible combination of teams that could possibly maybe play each other.”

That mention of the playoffs sparked fans’ interest, and they waited all day for Sunday night to see Underwood sing the theme. Then, she didn’t. Overall, fans are disappointed she didn’t sing the theme, but the theme represents more than the start of a game for fans and players. Underwood has been singing the song for 11 years, and many fans and players came of age watching her on TV. Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs even thanked her personally for the song.

While she isn’t the first singer to perform the theme—and it’s changed a few times as well—Underwood has been doing it the longest. In that way, she’s had the most influence.

Featured Image by Jason Davis/Getty Images for SiriusXM

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

Log In