After hearing the latest rendition of the Sunday Night Football opening song, people honestly aren’t sure what to think. Carrie Underwood has performed the opening theme song for years (since 2013, to be exact). But this year’s version of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” sounds quite a bit different because Carrie took a more rock-inspired approach.
While some fans seem to love this version, others took to social media to complain about how bad they think it sounds.
The negative comments were pretty brutal.
Can we p l e a s e retire Carrie Underwood from Sunday night football
— Andrea (@_dreaalexandra) September 14, 2026
“I’ve often wondered what the shriek of a banshee would sound like if it were real, then I heard Carrie Underwood sing the Sunday Night Football song and it was probably just like that,” one critic wrote on X after listening to this year’s version of the song.
“Was so hoping you had a new opening singer,” someone else wrote. “More nails on a chalkboard this year.”
A critic on Reddit called it “hilariously terrible,” while another person said, “It’s incredible and ironically hilarious how bad it is and how they try and make it like a big thing lol. She’s just repeating football and Sunday night and NBC thinks their viewers are like 😲”
This year’s version took inspiration from “I Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
The wait is OVER. Sunday Night Football has arrived and so has the newest version of the anthem by Carrie Underwood! 🎶 pic.twitter.com/cF97MHC1cG
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 14, 2026
And not everyone appreciated that. “I don’t mind opening musicals for primetime games,” another Redditor wrote. “Just perform something original. Ripping off Joan Jett in some kind of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic way is just cringe.”
Several people argued that last year’s version sounded much better and got fans excited to watch the game in a way that this one simply does not. “Why did you ruin (the song)?” someone else questioned.
While a decent number of people clearly have an issue with the new version, Carrie seems to love it. “This year’s show open welcomes Sunday Night Football into my ongoing rock star fever dream,” she said in a statement, per Rolling Stone.
“I love this new version of the track and, once again, (creative director) Tripp (Dixon) and the incredible team behind the camera brought it to life in a whole new way that captures the spirit of this iconic song and the heart of rock & roll. It’s one of my most favorite opens yet.”
Some fans agreed with her.
It’s time to retire the Carrie Underwood theme song I’m sorry
— lindsey ok (@lindseyyok) September 10, 2026
Clearly, there are people who would perhaps like to see another singer perform the opening theme song at this point. But some people look forward to hearing Carrie perform it each year, and this year was no exception to that. In spite of all the negativity online, multiple fans actually thought it was her best version of the song yet.
“This anthem gets more 🔥every season!” one person commented on X. “Love this new version.”
“One of my favorite openings yet!!” another commenter said. “Love the new intro!!” And several people specifically mentioned that they appreciate the change this year. “One of her absolute best,” someone else noted. “Glad for something different.”
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