The NFL is appealing to its fanbase by incorporating country music sensation Chris Stapleton for their musical performances at Super Bowl LVII. Stapleton is slated to perform the national anthem.
Stapleton, known for his unique voice and hits like “Tennessee Whisky, has won8 Grammys and 15 CMA Awards, will be making his first Super Bowl appearance.
The singer-songwriter was given words of encouragement and advice from past performer Mickey Guyton, who sang the national anthem last year.
“You was made for this moment and I can’t wait to watch,” the performer posted to Stapleton’s Instagram account. “Enjoy every minute and don’t forget to breathe.”
Fox News added this note of Stapleton’s credentials:
The 44-year-old Stapleton has won eight Grammy Awards, 15 CMA awards — including male vocalist of the year in 2021 — and 10 ACM awards in his career and is known for songs like “Tennessee Whiskey” and “You Should Probably Leave.”
Country’s singer-songwriter star is part of a bevy of a veritable Who’s Who for both the pregame and halftime lineup. Joining Stapleton for the pregame rituals are R&B legend Babyface, who will be offering his rendition of “America the Beautiful” and the Emmy-winning Sheryl Lee Ralph for a cover of the NFL’s newly-included “black” national anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
For fans of both football and music, the halftime show will continue with a hall-of-fame lineup. Pop start Rihanna headlines that entertainment.
The game itself has not yet been decided in terms of who will be competing in Arizona for the Lombardi Trophy. The NFC Championship game features the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. The winner of that contest will play the victor in the AFC matchup featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and defending Super Bowl champion Cincinnati Bengals.
Writing about the Super Bowl, Wikipedia notes that a new system for selecting host sites was introduced in the last few years. Rather than accept a bid, the league simply chooses a suitable location.
A new system was introduced to select hosting sites for the Super Bowl, which began with Super Bowl LVI. The previous process that allowed cities to submit bids for the hosting rights was discarded. Instead, the league unilaterally chooses a single hosting site for each game, not allowing other cities to bid; the chosen city then puts together a proposal that is voted upon at the league’s owners’ meetings.
Arizona was the first location chosen under this process; its proposal was accepted unanimously on May 23, 2018
The Super Bowl has long favored warmer climates for its winter championship game. While the league experimented with playing in the northern metropolitan New York area. Super Bowl XLVIII featured chilly weather dipping beneath 50 degrees Fahrenheit in a game played at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. A few years later the Super Bowl was hosted by Minneapolis, though this game featured a controlled climate in the Vikings’ new US Bank stadium.
The Super Bowl has since returned to a more favorable line up host cities like Miami and Glendale, Arizona.
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