Eric Church Facing Controversy for Canceling Concert to Watch March Madness

By Stephen Andrew

Eric Church recently announced that he canceled a concert in order to watch a March Madness game in-person, and he's facing quite a bit of controversy over the decision. Church is a North Carolina native and therefore is a fan of the Tarheels college basketball team. The team made it to the Final Four and will be playing against Duke in a March Madness game. 

Being the massive fan he is, Church opted to cancel his San Antonio, Texas, concert on April 2, as that is the same day of the big game. In a statement, he addressed his fanbase by their title and explained, "To the Church Choir. This Saturday, my family and I are going to stand together to cheer on the Tar Heels as the team has made it to the Final Four. As a lifelong Carolina basketball fan, I've watched Carolina and Duke battle over the years but to have them matchup in the Final Four for the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament is any sports enthusiast's dream. This is also the most selfish thing I've ever asked the Choir to do: to give up your Saturday night plans with us so I can have this moment with my family and sports community."

He continued, "However, it's that same type of passion felt by the people who fill the seats at our concerts that makes us want to be part of a crowd at a game of this significance. Woody Durham always said, 'Go where you go and do what you do.'" Finally, Church concluded his statement, "Thanks for letting me go here and be with the Tar Heels." The move has led to a lot of backlash, with many fans — and now-former fans — voicing their frustration on social media. Scroll down to see what they're saying.

"Rooting for Duke"

"I'm a UNC fan and this is not cool. Plenty of people that have rooting interest in sports have to work whether their team is playing or not. Plus this may put some bad karma on Carolina for the game," a Twitter user commented.

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"Rhetoric"

"Apparently all this Church Choir rhetoric is just marketing. He gets a memory with his family but cancels a memory for 20,000 of his followers. I will no longer be one of them. And as a lifelong Kentucky fan, this will be the first time I ever root for Duke," an angry fan wrote.

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Covid Cancellation

"Here's an idea...Wouldn't it be amazing if he got to the venue and his tickets were ['canceled.'] They should give his tickets to the fans who spent the most money traveling to his concert and then let him buy them out at the price of a redo concert with all expenses paid by him," someone else tweeted.

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Concert Employees

"I have seen a lot of comments about all the ticket holders who may have lost additional money in travel, hotel, airfare, etc. What about the people who work the concerts? People who work parking [and] concession stands [and] security [and] those kinds of things. Do they get compensated?" a Twitter user wondered.

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"Lame Excuse"

"Being from NC, it's a huge game. But those fans spent a lot of money on tickets," one person offered. "He has an obligation to those fans. I could understand if he was sick or something but that is a lame excuse to cancel a show."

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Fan Support

Notably, Church does still have some supporters who understand his position. "First ever tournament matchup between two of the most storied rivals in the game, Coach K's last tournament and a trip to go to the Championship and knock said rival out into retirement, hell yeah I would do the same thing he is!" a Tarheels fan exclaimed.

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"Love the Outrage"

"I don't know him but how are people mad at him for wanting to see his favorite team go against their biggest rival on possibly the biggest game they have played against each other," one last Twitter user posed.

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