From Rolling Stone · Joseph Hudak · · 1m 20s
Carrie Underwood kicks off her 14th NFL season
The country star opened Sunday Night Football for the 14th year, and she leaned harder into rock than ever.
In brief
The country star opened Sunday Night Football for the 14th year, and she leaned harder into rock than ever. Underwood's Sunday Night Football theme is built on a Joan Jett riff, and her rock instincts are the real thing, not a costume. Originally reported by Rolling Stone.
Fourteen seasons in
Carrie Underwood opened the 2026 NFL season on NBC with another version of the Sunday Night Football theme. It is her 14th year doing it.
“Fourteen seasons in, and Carrie Underwood is still waiting.”
The song everyone knows
"Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" is the anthem that starts the night for millions of viewers before kickoff.
Louder guitars this year
Underwood pushed the rock side of the anthem in her 2026 take, trading polish for grit.
Built on a Joan Jett riff
The theme borrows from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' 1988 hit "I Hate Myself for Loving You," so the rock is baked in from the start.
“based on Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' 1988 radio hit "I Hate Myself for Loving You"”
A rocker at heart
She has covered Motorhead and Skid Row live, opened for Guns N' Roses, and shared a stage with Axl Rose more than once.
“the singer has always been a rocker at heart”
Nu metal in Iowa
At Velocity Fest this month she worked in Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and Papa Roach songs, which makes the harder NFL version look like a pattern.
At a glance
Underwood's Sunday Night Football theme is built on a Joan Jett riff, and her rock instincts are the real thing, not a costume.
