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Photo:
Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images
It’s hard not to get emotional when
Reba McEntire
sings. The country star has been singing tear-jerking anthems and heartwarming love songs for almost 45 years. So it may not have been that big of a surprise that her performance of the National Anthem ahead of kickoff in Sunday’s Super Bowl brought tears to the eyes of one of the toughest men in football.
McEntire
helped open the football championship game with a gorgeous rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and as her voice soared through the bars, the camera panned over the players waiting to step on the field. Most team members kept their heads down trying to stay focused on the big game they were about to play, but Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones stared into the camera as tears rolled down his face. The two-time All-Pro player had clearly been carried away by the song, Reba’s voice, and all the heightened emotions that came before the game. It was a sweet, human moment amid the massive spectacle of Super Bowl LVIII.
McEntire
wasn’t the only one to deliver an emotional performance in the pre-game festivities. Andra Day delivered a powerful rendition of « Lift Every Voice And Sing, » and Post Malone armed with an acoustic guitar offered a folksy version of America the Beautiful. »
This was a gig that
McEntire
was more than prepared for as she’s done this a time or two before. While this was the first time she performed at the Super Bowl, she’s been singing « The Star-Spangled Banner” for years, as we’ve
previously reported.
“I’ve been singing the National Anthem, well a long time,” McEntire
said in a
CBS Mornings
interview
when the performance was first announced. “I started singing in 1974 singing the National Anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. I sang the National Anthem there for 10 years.” All that practice clearly paid off for
The Voice
mentor
and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.
Bravo Reba, job well done!