Kansas City Chiefs Mercilessly Booed During Super Bowl Intro

The Super Bowl LIX pre-show launched with a series of rousing musical moments.

Lady Gaga led a crowd on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street in a singalong of her Top Gun: Maverick ballad “Hold My Hand” in honor of the tragedies, well…everywhere in recent months. There was a thrilling ode to the music of Louisiana overseen by Harry Connick, Jr. And, perhaps most conspicuously: an unmistakable chorus of boos as the Kansas City Chiefs were introduced and trotted onto the field.

The ceremonial announcing of the teams began with actor Jon Hamm, his vocal chords on the verge of projectile-launching from his neck as he strained to shout his introduction of the Chiefs—and, in what I’m sure is a moment that will haunt him for the foreseeable future, his voice embarrassingly cracking at one point.

Things didn’t get any more positive for the Chiefs from there; the sound of the crowd booing quickly drowned out Hamm’s bellowing as the AFC champions took the field.

The loyalty of the crowd at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome was made explicitly clear. Once the booing dissipated, actor Bradley Cooper took the mic to introduce the Philadelphia Eagles, who received raucous cheers and applause.

On social media, there seemed to be delight being taken in the two-time defending champion Chiefs getting so brutally trolled in-person by the arena’s crowd.

Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and their Chiefs teammates didn’t have to live alone with the shame of the polarized crowd reaction for long.

Soon, singer Jon Batiste performed the National Anthem, with the camera giving audiences their first shot of Donald Trump in the audience. Trump seemed to receive loud cheers, with only a smattering of boos when he was shown. Batiste meanwhile, seemed to have caused a mass wincing as he tortuously warbled through the end of the notoriously difficult-to-sing patriotic song.

Was the struggle to find the notes intentional?

One thing was noticeable: Batiste repeated the phrase “land of the free” multiple times, as Trump watched from the stands.