NBC did not air the national anthem before its Sunday Night Football broadcast of the Chicago Bears' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Soldier Field on Sunday, drawing criticism from viewers during the NFL's Salute to Service week and three days before Veterans Day.
After the booth introduction from analyst Cris Collinsworth and play-by-play voice Noah Eagle, NBC aired a pregame interview with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, then an aerial view of flag bearers carrying a folded, field-sized American flag back into a stadium tunnel. The broadcast did include Carrie Underwood's opening theme and coverage of the Jeffery Simmons trade to the Bears. The anthem was performed in the stadium, according to a Getty Images photo caption published by Yahoo Sports.
NBC has not explained the decision. OutKick, which first reported the omission, said it contacted NBC executive vice president of communications Greg Hughes and senior vice president of communications Chris McCloskey and had received no response by the time its report was published on Monday. The decision on whether to air the anthem is generally made by the network, not the NFL or the home team.
Regular play-by-play voice Mike Tirico missed the game because of a health issue, with Eagle filling in. It was not the first anthem-related moment at Soldier Field this season: on September 28, the group Mariachi Herencia de Mexico performed an instrumental mariachi version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a Monday Night Football game there. On the field on Sunday night, Chicago beat Tampa Bay 27-24 on a 38-yard field goal as time expired, improving to 7-2.
Some fans on social media called for a boycott of Sunday Night Football, and the network had not addressed the complaints as of Monday. The anthem is not always shown before games, but for the league's most-watched weekly broadcast, many viewers expect to see it.
