Sunday Night Football has been a Carrie Underwood vehicle for the last decade, but she took a backseat to Beck last night (September 25). The highlight of a bumbling contest between the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers was a surprise 30-second spot featuring the eight-time Grammy winner covering Neil Young’s “Old Man” to promote next weekend’s SNF match-up between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The full-length, standalone cover was released as a single today (September 26).
In the black-and-white SNF spot, Beck strums in an empty room while singing the intro (“Old man, look at my life / I’m a lot like you were”) and first verse (“Twenty-four, and there’s so much more”). The lyrics aligned with spliced footage of quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, who each won his first Super Bowl as a 24-year-old. Mahomes turned 27 on September 17, while Brady is the oldest active NFL player at 45.
Next week on Sunday Night Football. @beck#ChiefsKingdom | #GoBucs https://t.co/07n92B5P0Y
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 26, 2022
The Week 4 clash will be a rematch of 2021’s Super Bowl LV. Brady’s Bucs dominated the Chiefs, 31-9, and Brady claimed his all-time most seventh Super Bowl ring. Mahomes only has one so far from Kansas City’s 2020 Super Bowl LIV victory over San Francisco.
Beck has been at it even longer than Brady, and the indie rock legend is similarly going strong. Over the weekend, Beck joined Damon Albarn and Gorillaz to perform “Possession Island” at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Beck is featured on the closing track of the Gorillaz’s forthcoming album, Cracker Island, due February 24, 2023.
Listen to Beck’s full cover of “Old Man” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
