National Football League

Zac Brown cooks up new version of ‘Chicken Fried’ for NFL

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:51 p.m. ET

ATLANTA (AP) — The Zac Brown Band is lending its sound to the NFL.

The Atlanta-based group will give its 2008 hit “ Chicken Fried ” a holiday twist for the Thanksgiving night matchup between the hometown Falcons and rival New Orleans Saints.

Brown’s song will serve as an intro for the NBC-televised game. He says the band is “excited to help open up such a huge game in our own backyard” and adds, “Go Falcons!”

The broadcast will begin with Brown receiving a text from Carrie Underwood, who normally provides the soundtrack for the opening of NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

Brown reveals his guitar — strategically placed under the table — before going into an acoustic holiday version of the song.