NFL fans took to the Internet to praise the performance of the U.S. national anthem before kickoff of an NFC Wild Card game in Philadelphia.
While the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Green Bay Packers in mid-afternoon, the Eagles hired an artist to do a rendition of the national anthem, as is customary.
The Eagles brought out a saxophonist who went by the stage name Vanya Sax to create an instrumental rendition of the song and it struck a chord with fans across the league.
Vanya’s smooth performance was punctuated by a very long high note in the penultimate verse of the song, which drew cheers from the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field.
Not only did the anthem attract attention, the decision to fly a live bald eagle through the stadium was praised by social media users.
“Eagles bringing out a man named Vanya Sax to sing the Sax National Anthem is an ALPHA move. Eagles vs. 1000,” wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
A saxophonist who goes by the name Vanya Sax played the national anthem on Sunday afternoon prior to the Philadelphia Eagles-Green Bay Packers NFC Wild Card playoff game
A number of NFL fans on social media erupted in praise after the instrumental anthem
ESPN’s Mina Kimes tweeted: ‘Sax anthem??? Eagles in double digits I’m afraid.’
Her colleague at the Worldwide Leader, Scott Van Pelt, also posted about the anthem: ‘Sax anthem in starter jacket with an eagle landing on the field is incredibly strong.’
“Okay, this sax anthem is BOILING,” read a message from the popular college football Twitter account @SickosCommittee.
Barstool Sports’ Big Cat posted, “Vanya Sax CRUSHED THAT,” while ESPN’s Sarah Spain tweeted, “His last name is Sax? Really born to blow, man.’
Another user wrote: ‘After that national anthem? Eagles by a million’ and contained a GIF of a bald eagle.
On3 Sports’ JD Pickell wrote, “It appears the saxophone community is working on a historic anthem this playoff season.”
“There’s just something special about a folk song as an instrument,” said another user.
The national anthem must have been a strong motivator for the Eagles as they forced and recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff. At halftime, Philadelphia led 10-0.