As excited as I am to see Dolly Parton perform on the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Halftime show tomorrow, it’s honestly going to be pretty hard to top Eric Church’s 2016 performance.
He took the stage seven years ago at AT&T stadium on Turkey Day during the Dallas Cowboys game against the Washington Commanders (formerly Redskins), where the Cowboys won 31-26.
Chief ran through hits like “Record Year,” “Drink In My Hand,” “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag,” “Give Me Back My Hometown,” “Springsteen,” and of course, gave the fans an afternoon to remember with a rousing performance.
And being that this was the year after Eric put out what is still one of his best albums, Mr. Misunderstood, excitement around him headlining the show made it even more fun to watch and he definitely picked some of his best songs for the fans in Texas and people watching on TV at home, too.
Of course, since 1997, the Dallas Cowboys have hosted extravagant halftime shows over the holiday game as a way to kick off the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign with a bang, so to speak.
Some of the other greats that have performed in the past include country music icons like Randy Travis, Clint Black, Toby Keith, Luke Combs, and Carrie Underwood.
This year, Dolly’s promoting her new rock album Rockstar, and I’m sure will represent country (and rock, I guess) music well with an over-the-top performance to remember.
Honestly, it’s about damn time that she takes the stage, and while many great performances have graced Jerry World over the years, Dolly Parton might just give Eric (and Creed) a run for their money on best halftime performance.
But until tomorrow when the Queen herself gets her well-deserved time to shine, you can take a look back at Eric’s 2016 performance below (and a closer view on the video here):
And if you aren’t familiar with the 2001 iconic Creed halftime show… have you been living under a rock? Buckle up and enjoy, especially since today is the 22-year anniversary:
