Terry Bradshaw helped his daughter, Rachel, get through a very challenging obstacle. On a recent episode of The Bradshaw Bunch, the former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback made an appearance at Texas Motor Speedway for a NASCAR race. Not only Bradshaw announced, “Drivers, start your engines!” before the race, but he also supported Rachel for performing “God Bless America,” which was the first time she performed since her husband Rob Bironas’ death three years ago.
“When Rachel lost her husband, she lost her passion for singing,” Bradshaw said in a confessional as reported by E! News. Bironas, a former Tennessee Titans kicker and Rachel were married only two months before his death. He was 36 years old. “I would hate for her to be sitting around when she’s 60 going, ‘Man I wish I would’ve followed through on my dream,’” Bradshaw added, who also said he would only do the NASCAR gig if Rachel would perform “God Bless America” instead of him.
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Rachel then talked about her husband’s death in the confessional. “When I was married, I had a partner. I had someone in my corner,” she stated. “So that would boost your confidence. I was so into my career and singing and all of that. But then I lost it, so it’s been years since I’ve been on stage. And like, I don’t want to do this. I really don’t want to do it.” Rachel was reluctant to do it but finally gave in when Bradshaw went the guilt-trip route.
“If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for me…It’ll break my heart,” Bradshaw said. Rachel was able to pull off the performance but admitted to being very nervous. However, she was happy to get through it and also glad her father pushed her to perform.
“When we don’t believe in ourselves, Dad picks us back up and makes us believe in ourselves,” Rachel explained in a confessional. “He wants us to succeed so bad; he will do anything. A part of me honestly thinks he even agreed to NASCAR because he wanted me to have that opportunity.” Bironas was killed in a car crash on September 20, 2014. He was a member of the Titans from 2005-2013 and was selected to the All-Pro First Team in 2007 after making 35 of his 39 field-goal attempts and all of his extra points.
