Carrie Underwood Fans Weigh in After Country Singer Misses Thanksgiving Game Opening This Year

Carrie Underwood did not record a special version of her opening song for NBC's Sunday Night [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Carrie Underwood did not record a special version of her opening song for NBC's Sunday Night Football intro to go with Thursday night's Thanksgiving Day broadcast ahead of the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints' match-up. Instead, the Zac Brown Band opened the show with a version of their 2008 song "Chicken Fried." The news was a blow to Underwood's longtime fans who enjoy hearing her sing "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night."

The peacock network previously revealed that Underwood "has the holiday off," so Brown and his band were tapped to replace her temporarily.

"Hey America. It's Zac Brown here with the Zac Brown Band. We're getting set up for the perfect Thanksgiving," Brown said in a promotional clip NBC released earlier this week. "We've got food, we've got family, we've got football, and we've got our guitars. Because we're getting ready to cook up a little tune for everyone to jam to."

Underwood's fans will not have to wait much longer to hear the 2019 version of "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night," since NBC has another regularly scheduled game on Sunday. The New England Patriots take on the Houston Texans on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET.

Underwood is celebrating Thanksgiving with husband Mike Fisher and their sons, Isaiah and Jacob. In an interview with her record label, Underwood revealed that they do not have too many Thanksgiving traditions, since she is rarely home on the holiday.

"We don't have too many set-in-stone Thanksgiving traditions," the "Cry Pretty" singer told Universal Nashville. "I find myself a lot of times working on or around Thanksgiving or unable to get home or whatever. We try to be together, but sometimes that just doesn't work out. But yeah, I mean, I think it's just about we eat. I eat a lot every year on Thanksgiving. [laughs] I never skip THAT tradition. But yeah, that's the gist of it, and I'm kind of lucky. I get two Thanksgivings, because I also get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with my husband's family, so if I don't hit one, I'll definitely be able to get the other one."

She later said she has a "too vast" list of reasons to be thankful.

"First and foremost, my family. We had a baby earlier this year, which is crazy to think about all of the things that we've done and thinking about starting off this year pregnant and having a baby and all of the places that he's already seen," Underwood explained. "I'm thankful for health and we've had safety along all of our travels. Of course, I'm thankful for the tour and I'm thankful to the fans that have come out to see us. There's a lot to be thankful for. God has blessed us with some incredible stuff and hopefully we've done good with what we've been blessed with."

Underwood spent most of 2019 on the road after Isaiah was born, and finished her Cry Pretty 360 tour in October.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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