Thirteen seasons. In TV, that kind of consistency is rare. Yet Carrie Underwood just opened another NFL year as the face and voice of Sunday Night Football, rolling out a new version of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” ahead of the 2025 opener between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills on Sept. 7. The reaction? A flood of posts calling it her sharpest show open yet and, once again, crowning her the “Queen of SNF.”
It’s more than a catchy song before kickoff. The SNF open has become a ritual—a signal that the biggest game of the week is about to start. Underwood’s performance continues to blend soaring vocals with quick-cut football highlights and glossy production, the kind of package that instantly feels big-game ready. This year’s cut keeps the familiar anthem at its core while polishing the visuals and pacing to match a faster, more cinematic broadcast style.
A 13-Year Run That Became Tradition
Underwood stepped into the Sunday Night Football role in 2013, taking the baton from Faith Hill. Before Hill, Pink launched NBC’s SNF era in 2006. The song itself—“Waiting All Day for Sunday Night”—is a football-flavored adaptation of Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” and it’s been the franchise’s secret weapon: instantly recognizable, easy to sing, and built for stadium energy.
Over the years, NBC has refreshed the open to keep it from going stale. Some seasons leaned into a rock-forward arrangement, others into a sleeker pop sound. In 2018, producers tried a different route with “Game On,” then circled back to the signature anthem fans associate most with SNF. The common thread has been Underwood’s voice—powerful, crisp, and unmistakably tied to the brand.
That’s the real story here: longevity turning into identity. SNF regularly leads U.S. primetime ratings across the fall, and the open has evolved into a brand marker for NBC Sports and the NFL. It tells casual viewers they’re in the right place and gives diehards a flash of adrenaline before the first snap. Each year brings new graphics, new edits, and fresh footage of star players—and Underwood is the constant.
Fans embraced the 2025 opener quickly. Social posts praised the punchier arrangement and the clean, high-contrast visuals, which lined up well with the Ravens–Bills matchup hype. Some even pushed the idea—again—that Underwood should get a Super Bowl halftime show. To be clear, that’s fan chatter, not an official move, but it shows how tightly audiences connect her voice to the biggest stage in American sports.
Here’s how this run stacks up at a glance:
- 2006: NBC launches Sunday Night Football; Pink sings the first modern SNF theme.
- 2007–2012: Faith Hill becomes the show’s signature voice.
- 2013–present: Carrie Underwood takes over, turning the open into a weekly ritual.
- 2018: A one-year pivot to “Game On,” followed by a return to the classic anthem.
- 2025: Underwood’s 13th consecutive season, with a refreshed cut debuting before Ravens–Bills.
The pairing works because it balances familiarity and novelty. Viewers know what they’re getting—the catchy hook, the quick-cut highlight reel, the big finish—but each year still brings new polish. That’s a tough balance to keep for more than a decade, and the team behind the open has made it look easy.
Why This Opener Landed So Well
The 2025 version sticks to the SNF playbook while tightening everything that matters: pacing, energy, and the payoff chorus. The song kicks in fast, the edits breathe just long enough to spot your team’s stars, and the final run hits right as the broadcast swings into game mode. It feels familiar without feeling recycled.
There’s also the human part. Underwood isn’t a once-a-year cameo; she’s there every week of the regular season. That repetition builds a bond with viewers. When the lights go up on Sunday night, you don’t have to wonder what you’re about to hear—you can almost sing along before it starts. That’s brand equity you can’t fake.
This season’s debut also benefited from the opening matchup. Baltimore vs. Buffalo offered a clean highlight palette—speed, power, big-armed throws, and physical defenses. The visuals embraced that identity: fast breaks, tight angles on quarterbacks, and crowd shots that telegraph scale. It’s a simple equation: big teams, big energy, big open.
The social media ripple effect adds to the momentum. The “Queen of SNF” nickname resurfaced quickly, then came the familiar chorus of halftime speculation. If the league ever leans toward a country-pop headliner who can deliver a belt-it-to-the-rafters set, Underwood will always sit near the top of fan wish lists. For now, her SNF role remains one of the most visible and enduring music–sports crossovers on television.
What’s next? Expect weekly updates to the open that slot in fresh game footage and team-specific moments while keeping the core package intact. Underwood is set to anchor the SNF intro through the regular season, as usual. She typically doesn’t appear during Wild Card weekend, then resets for the next fall. In a league built on week-to-week storylines, that steady rhythm is part of the appeal—new game, fresh clips, same voice you recognize immediately.
Thirteen years in, the formula still clicks: a star vocalist with broad appeal, a theme that hits like a drumline, and visuals that move as fast as the football does. When you hear the first riff on a Sunday night, you know what’s coming. That’s the point.
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