Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready kicked off the Seattle Seahawks’ season opener with a soaring electric-guitar version of the National Anthem — but plenty of NFL fans were not impressed.
McCready took center stage at Lumen Field before the Seahawks faced the New England Patriots, performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” without a singer and leaning into a dramatic guitar arrangement reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix.
The performance came in front of a sold-out Seattle crowd as the Seahawks opened their season in a rematch of February’s Super Bowl.
But almost immediately, viewers took to social media to tear into the unusual rendition.
One angry fan called it a “stupid presentation” of the anthem, while another blasted the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“I’ve seen better National Anthem performances at my son’s elementary school field day, played on a recorder,” the viewer wrote, telling the league to “get your act together.”
Another fan questioned whether the performance was simply bad or whether they were “just getting old.”
Others were even harsher, with one viewer calling McCready’s guitar solo during the anthem “disgusting.”
The backlash also spilled into a separate controversy surrounding the NFL’s entertainment choices.
Some fans brought up the league’s decision to select Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl, using McCready’s performance as another opportunity to criticize Goodell and the NFL.
McCready, however, made clear before taking the field that he viewed the performance as a major honor.
“It’s incredibly special, it’s incredibly poignant, it’s intense,” he said. “You want to do it right. It’s Seattle.”
The Pearl Jam rocker said performing in his hometown added even more pressure.
“We want to play as well as we can for Seattle, because we’re from here, this is our home,” he said. “It’s a big deal, and that’s an exciting pressure to be part of.”
Pearl Jam has long been closely tied to Seattle, making McCready a natural hometown choice for the high-profile opener.
Still, the reaction online showed just how risky it can be to put an unconventional spin on one of the most closely watched traditions in American sports.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, quickly had a much bigger problem.
Quarterback Sam Darnold suffered a brutal start to the season when he was forced out on the opening drive and was seen heading toward the locker room with a noticeable limp.
For Seattle fans, it turned an already controversial opening night into an anxious one before the game had barely begun.
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