Carrie Underwood on ‘Champion’ Inspiration: ‘I Love Sporting Events’

Carrie Underwood’s single, “The Champion,” will be used for both the Super Bowl LII, pairing the Philadelphia Eagles against the New England Patriots, and the 2018 Winter Olympics. The anthemic song, which Underwood wrote with Brett James, Chris DeStefano and Ludacris (who also sings on the track with her), was a way for Underwood to channel one of her favorite pastimes into her music.

“I love sporting events,” reveals Underwood. “I think it’s just the excitement, the drama. You’ve got all these people on the ice or on the field or on the court, and they’re just giving it their all. Big sporting events are just amazing. There’s just something really special about live sporting events, and football. I’ve been watching it my entire life, so it’s fun to be a part of it in some way and to be a part of the biggest game of the year is really special.”

Underwood, who also sings the theme song for Sunday Night Football, had plenty of time to watch her favorite athlete over the years: husband Mike Fisher, who led the Nashville Predators ice hockey team to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, before retiring from the sport. And while Fisher couldn’t share “The Champion” with his teammates, his wife says the song at least helped keep Fisher motivated through the latter part of the season.

“My husband loved it,” she said. “He would listen to it before playoff games. He was like ‘I want everyone to hear it!’ and I had to tell him, ‘You can’t do that. You can’t play it in the locker room. I’m sorry.’ But that was a good indicator that we were on the right track.”

The 2018 Super Bowl will air on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 PM on NBC. The Olympics will begin on Feb. 9, and will also air on NBC.

Download “The Champion” on iTunes.