Atlanta Falcons Fan, Zac Brown, Says It Was “Brutal” To Perform Ahead Of Super Bowl LI, Where The Patriots Came Back From Down 28-3

The highest of highs and lowest of lows for Zac Brown.

The 47-year-old artist has been in the music industry for quite some time now. Zac Brown Band’s debut album, The Foundation, came out in 2008, and he and his band have been riding the wave of their hit song “Chicken Fried” ever since. Zac’s group has taken chances and changed things up multiple times throughout the past 10-plus years, and just recently, they announced that a “new chapter” was on the way.

The “new chapter” comes in the form of their new album – and corresponding Las Vegas Sphere residency – titled Love and Fear. Zac Brown Band’s newest project drops on December 5, the same day that they kick off their run of shows at the state-of-the-art, $2.3 billion venue:

“Bringing our new album ‘Love & Fear’ to Sphere Las Vegas is a dream come true. It’s my masterpiece so far. This show is the story of my life that I have never shared, a journey through my imagination, music, and stories that have defined who I am.

All of this brought to life in the incredible immersive environment of Sphere. It will be a unique experience where you can really feel every note, every word, right there with us. We can’t wait to share it with the fans.”

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That should be a pretty fun one for Zac Brown Band fans to experience, and it’s just another big moment checked off the career to-do list for Zac Brown.

When the artist sat down with Rich Eisen recently, the sports show host hilariously touched on Brown’s Georgia-based fandom, and asked if “Love and Fear” was written about being an Atlanta Falcons fan. Brown appreciated the humor of the question, and spoke a little bit about the current state of the Falcons before the conversation turned to the part he played in the Falcons Super Bowl game back in 2017.

Brown said he actually sang “The Star Spangled Banner” ahead of that contest against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, and anyone familiar with football knows how excruciating of a game that ended up being for Falcons fans:

“I sang the anthem at the Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl. It was 28 to 3 at halftime, we were celebrating. Watching (the Patriots) get oxygen and coming back and some of the catches that Edelman made in that game… it was brutal.”

Except… he didn’t actually sing the national anthem. Wait… what? Yep, I’m not really sure what Zac Brown is remembering but Luke Bryan sang the national anthem ahead of Super Bowl LI:

@countrysayings Luke performing the national anthem before Super Bowl LI in 2017… #LukeBryan #SuperBowl #countrymusic ♬ original sound – Country Sayings

Weird… right?

As it turns out, Zac actually performed a song at some kind of pregame tailgate concert, but it certainly wasn’t the anthem… not sure how you could forget that, but Zac has performed it a number of times at various other sporting events. Foggy memory I suppose…

Eisen suggested that singing the national anthem before the game, then watching your favorite NFL team get out to what would normally be an insurmountable lead, only to then witness the Falcons blow a 25-point lead to Brady and the Patriots must have been a “best day and worst day” type of situation. Zac Brown agreed, and made sure to separate himself from what happened, just in case any Falcons fans are superstitious:

“I withdraw any claims that I had anything to do with the success of that game. But that was a tough one. Tough loss.”

I truly can’t imagine going from bucket list moment as an artist, to the highs of watching your team seemingly bury a legend and a dynasty, to then having a Super Bowl literally ripped out of the hands of your favorite NFL team. Zac Brown went through exactly that, and you can tell that it still bothers him to this day.

You can hear Zac Brown talk more about the best and worst day of his life in the interview from The Rich Eisen Show below:

Oh, and just in case you wanted a refresher on how that Super Bowl went, I tracked down a very condensed version of the game that should allow you to relive the glory and the agony of the Patriots coming back to defeat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI:

Patriots 28-3 Comeback Against The Falcons In Super Bowl LI