Eleven years ago, Carrie Underwood became the face of Sunday Night Football. Now, for many fans, it just isn’t Sunday night without her. NFL enthusiasts rejoiced to hear the country megastar would return to NBC for her 12th season. Tonight (Sunday, Sept. 15), Underwood got millions ready for some football with another instantly iconic performance. No better way to kick off a battle between two undefeated teams as the Chicago Bears take on the Houston Texans.
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Carrie Underwood Fans Have Been Waiting All Week For Sunday Night
“Been waiting all day on Carrie Underwood and Da Bears” one fan wrote on X/Twitter.
One fan added, “Carrie Underwood’s Sunday Night Football anthem will have you wanting to run through a brick wall.” Another X user admitted, “Carrie Underwood just gave me chills.”
The Sunday Night Football anthem riffs on Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ ubiquitous 1988 hit, “I Hate Myself For Loving You.” This season, the “Undo It” hitmaker turns the gridiron anthem on its head this year. For the first time, Underwood’s performance of “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” gets straight to the point by starting with the chorus: I’ve been waiting all day for Sunday night / The tough get rough in a primetime fight / A hundred seasons strong and we’re doing it right / That’s why we’re waiting all day for Sunday night.
The American Idol champ’s powerful vocals and stage presence offer up a bewitching concoction. Even if you’ve never watched one second of an NFL game, it’s hard not to feel amped up when you hear Underwood belt that chorus.
How the ‘Sunday Night Football’ Anthem Comes From Nashville
Nashville had a hand in the Sunday Night Football theme song long before NFL fans declared Carrie Underwood the “queen of country.” Nashville’s Chris DeStefano produces the music for Underwood’s opening at the Soultrain Sound Studios (formerly Scruggs Sound) in the Berry Hill neighborhood.
[RELATED: Why NFL Fans Were Nearly Stripped of Carrie Underwood’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ Anthem]
DeStefano and Underwood are not strangers. Before he landed the gig, DeStefano had already penned several Carrie hits, including “Good Girl,” “Something in the Water” and the Miranda Lambert duet “Somethin’ Bad,” according to Billboard.
It was DeStefano’s idea to lead with the chorus this season. Keeping the theme song fresh is paramount, he told Billboard.
“It’s got to still make people turn their heads,” he said. “If they’re at a bar and it’s loud, there’s still got to be that element of ‘Oh, wait. What’s happening? I got to watch this.’”
Featured image by Amiee Stubbs/imageSPACE/Shutterstock
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