Chris Stapleton opened up the 2023 Super Bowl with the national anthem, inspiring tears both at the stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and at home.
Wearing an all-black ensemble, Stapleton performed “The Star-Spangled Banner" ahead of the showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Feb. 12.
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As Stapleton sang with his signature rumbly voice, Nick Sirianni, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, was seen with tears in his eyes, as were other players like Jason Kelce.
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Online, people took note of how many people seemed to be crying during the performance before the big game.
"Chris Stapleton just made an NFL head coach cry on national television with his sweet sweet rendition of the National Anthem," one Twitter user wrote.
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"Chris Stapleton is making the entire stadium cry," former "Bachelor" cast member Joe Amabile tweeted.
And he made some people at home cry, too.
The country legend first announced he was performing on Jan. 24 in a tweet that has been viewed more than 560,000 times.
Alongside Stapleton was “Coda” star Troy Kotsur, who performed the song in American Sign Language at the 2023 Super Bowl.
The other performers who kicked off the game were Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, who sang “America the Beautiful," and “Abbott Elementary” actor Sheryl Lee Ralph, who sang the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
On Twitter, Ralph pointed out that she was singing "Lift Every Voice" on the anniversary of its first public performance 123 years ago, on Feb. 12, 1900.
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