Earlier today, SB Nation Chicago’s David Miller wrote this commentary on our Deep Dish about Fox and the NFL selecting American Idol singer and Chicago native Lee DeWyze to sing the National Anthem at Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. 73% of SB Nation Chicago readers answering the poll in that post said they wanted Jim Cornelison to sing it, as he did on Sunday.
This was greeted with a collective yawn, nice guy that DeWyze is, and then outrage from fans who loved Cornelison’s stirring rendition of the anthem before last Sunday’s Bears/Seahawks playoff game.
Late today, the NFL and Fox-TV changed their minds; Cornelison will sing the anthem after all:
Fox officials said today that Jim Cornelison, who belts out the national anthem at Chicago Blackhawks games, will sing the Star Spangled Banner at Sunday’s Bears-Packers game.
There had been speculation that it would be Lee DeWyze, a Mount Prospect native who won “American Idol” last year. He had Tweeted Monday: “National Anthem at home, yes. Go Bears.”
But Fox said DeWyze would perform at halftime instead.
This is great news. Cornelison’s wonderful renditions of the National Anthem at Blackhawks games are stirring and beloved by Blackhawks fans. When the Blackhawks brought the Stanley Cup to Wrigley Field last June 13, Cornelison sang the anthem there, to the cheers of the sellout crowd, and now he’ll do it two weeks in a row leading into Bears playoff games.
Good call, NFL and Fox.
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