Carrie Underwood‘s iconic Sunday Night Football theme song and intro have become a major part of her career, but now, some fans are calling for it to end.
The musician is facing a wave of backlash now that the 2026-2027 football season has begun. Numerous social media users are requesting that her introduction song for NBC‘s Sunday Night Football games be replaced. The backlash didn’t come long after she was called out for her right-leaning political views and accusations that she supports President Trump’s MAGA movement. Read more about the situation below.
Carrie Underwood’s New ‘Sunday Night Football’ Theme Debuts
The country singer has been a familiar voice of NBC’s Sunday Night Football since 2013, when she took over the opening theme from Faith Hill.
She initially performed “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,” a football-themed version of Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” before introducing a new theme, “Oh, Sunday Night,” in 2016, based on her hit duet “Somethin’ Bad” with Miranda Lambert. In 2018, she debuted another original theme, “Game On,” before returning to “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” in 2019. Over the years, Carrie has become closely associated with the iconic NFL broadcast, recording different versions of the song to match the teams playing each week.
This season, we’ve drawn inspiration from Carrie’s deep, well-documented love of rock music – a perfect fit since our Sunday Night Football anthem was born from pure rock ‘n’ roll: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ ‘I Hate Myself for Loving You.'” said Tripp Dixon, Vice President and Creative Director at NBC Sports Group. “We’ve worked to match these two rock frequencies of past and present as they come together in Carrie’s high-energy performance. The greatest players and teams in the NFL will take it from there.”
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Social Media Users Call For Carrie's 'SNF' Introduction
Though she's been a fixture in Sunday Night Football for over a decade now, after some recent political-related allegations, it looks like there are many football fans who are ready for something new.
The "Before He Cheats" singer has faced some backlash from fans over her perceived right-leaning political views, particularly after agreeing to perform "America the Beautiful" at Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration. Although she has historically kept her political views private and described the inauguration performance as an apolitical decision, some fans saw her participation as an endorsement of Trump, prompting intense criticism online and reports that she lost thousands of social media followers.
The controversy has continued to fuel debate among fans about her political affiliations, with some calling for her to step away from prominent platforms like Sunday Night Football.
"It's time to retire the Carrie Underwood theme song I'm sorry," wrote an X user.
"Give it back to Faith Hill instead of that MAGA trash Carrie," responded another.
"I've never understood any of the hype about her," a user commented, as another added, "It should have been retired a few years ago."
"I can't stand her!" an NFL fan wrote. "Her voice grates on me, and it hurts my throat too! I mute it and do something else for about the 2/3 minute long screech-fest. Then I unmute it and watch the game in peace."
"Please find a replacement," replied another.
