# 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.
- Title: Carrie Underwood kicks off her 14th NFL season · Rolling Stone
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: carrie underwood, nfl, sunday night football, country, rock, Carrie, Underwood, kicks, 14th, season, Rolling Stone
- Source: Rolling Stone — https://rollingstone.com/music/music-country/carrie-underwood-2026-sunday-night-football-opening-nfl-1235623922
- Author: Joseph Hudak
- Published: 2026-09-14T00:24:22+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: carrie underwood, nfl, sunday night football, country, rock
## 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.
## Key takeaway

Underwood's Sunday Night Football theme is built on a Joan Jett riff, and her rock instincts are the real thing, not a costume.