Football is an American love story, and it seems our love for the game only grows stronger every year. Attendance at stadiums is at an all time high. And as yahoo.com recently pointed out, it’s also the most popular sport to bet on. With football season right around the corner, let’s take a look at 9 country stars who played football before music came calling.
With the big game days away, I thought it would be a kick (pun intended) to take a look at some of country music’s most popular artists who played the game. Some made it far, while others left the game after high school. From boys of fall to men of country. Here are 9 country artists who played football before music came calling.
Country music and sports go together like…well, tequila and lime, or tailgates and Kenny Chesney. Speaking of which, football was a huge part of Kenny’s life growing up. Get the stories behind these superstars athletic endeavors before music. Many times, it was an injury that forced the end of sports. Quite a few of these music-makers consider their sports-ending injuries to be a blessing in disguise. Music careers, although short-lived, certainly outlast athletic careers. And there are far fewer injuries. The only thing these stars have to worry about is slipping on stage and having random things lobbed at them from the audience, like cell phones. I don’t get that at all.
As you will see, below, some of these country stars had serious aspirations of playing football. Some played at high levels in college and beyond. So dig in and see who played the game. Take a look, here, at 9 country stars who played football before music came calling.
Sam Hunt
Sam was serious about football, and was a star on the field…for a while. Hunt reached the highest level on the gridioron, of all these country stars. He took it to the college level, playing quarterback for Middle Tennessee State and then the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In high school, Hunts was name the Co-Offensive player if the Year. He was also was named to the Georgia Sportswriters Association’s All-State Class AAA first team, and was nominated for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Trophy.
QB Sam Hunt rolls out during the game between the University of Georgia Bulldogs and University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) Blazers at Sanford Stadium in Athens, GA on September 16, 2006. . (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
Kenny Chesney
Kenny went from playing high school football to playing football stadiums! According to nashvillenoise.com, the country superstar was the wide reciever for Gibbs High School in Corryton, TN. His passion for the game inspired Kenny to cut the song, and later, direct an ESPN Films documentary about high school football, and based on the song. Just goes to prove, you don’t have to be the biggest player to be the biggest player.
Garth Brooks
Garth was a 3 sport athlete at Yukon High School in Yukon, Oklahoma. There, he played football, baseball and track. He excelled in football, but it was track and field that earned Garth a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma where he competed in javelin for the Sooners. The country mega-star was thrilled to finally play his first shows at Gillette Stadium last year.
