CANTON − Carrie Underwood strode onto the stage under the bright lights of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium singing about football, a perfect tie-in and sendoff for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival .
Attired in shiny silver shorts and cowboy boots of a similar hue and a bejeweled top, the country music star said opening with "Waiting All Day for a Sunday Night" — the theme song for NBC's Sunday Night Football — was an intentional change in the setlist "and very appropriate."
The Concert for Legends headliner got off to a flashy and festive start with the crowd roaring immediate approval.
During the song "Undo It," she implored the audience: "I want to see you all sing nice and loud!"
A nine-piece band took the stage, touting multiple guitar players, two keyboard players, a fiddler and drummer. Video screens flanked the stage; a large one served as a backdrop, flashing the words "Let's rock" before a crowd that appeared to number more than 12,000.
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The consistent applause and enthusiastic responses from the crowd were easily heard from outside the stadium. Concertgoers also swayed back and forth, dancing and occasionally waving a cowboy hat in an act of jubilation.
Social media commentary also said the concert was a banger. Reviews included: "She was awesome!!" and "Such a phenomenal show" and "I was beyond impressed. She brought the house down."
Country music artist Jackson Dean opened.
Before and after the show, I sought out some fans to interview to get a flavor of the atmosphere.
Here are the six most interesting things about Underwood's country music spectacle in the birthplace of the NFL:
1. Local artist turns speechless over meeting Carrie Underwood
A local artist whom the Canton Repository recently profiled was living her dream from the third row in a section to the left of the stage.
Kasey Wassam's was flashing a 10,000-watt smile.
Country music creations: HOF Village gives Canton artist and Carrie Underwood fan free tickets. See her reaction
Wassam is an artist at Silo Arts Studio in downtown Canton. Silo teaches, mentors and supports artists with disabilities. She had a recent solo art show with a theme paying tribute to female country music artists. Several of the paintings, dolls and art pieces were of Underwood — Wassam's favorite country singer.
Wassam, however, said she couldn't afford a ticket to the concert, and was unable to win one in a radio contest.
So after the newspaper made the Hall of Fame Village (via the Pro Football Hall of Fame) aware of Wassam's fandom and Underwood-centric art exhibition, the Village gifted her with the tickets.
The Village went a step further, too. Wassam got to meet Underwood with a select group of other fans. And the star signed Wassam's pink cowboy hat. Phenomenally cool.
"My adrenaline (was pumping)," she said of meeting her hero. Asked to describe the moment, Wassam said: "I just can't get the words out.
"... I was crying. I know I have makeup all over me."
2. Celebrating a 17th birthday with Carrie Underwood
A group of five teenage female fans from the Youngstown area was there to celebrate the 17th birthday of one of them.
Spotting the cowboy hats and smiles on the girls, I thought this might be Carrie Underwood central.
"We all love country very much," said Kiera Winner, 16. "We're from a country school with farm fields and stuff."
Triggering laughter from her friends, she added: "It smells like cow poop in the morning."
Also funny was Winner's memory of singing an Underwood song about infidelity, "Before He Cheats" at the mere age of 10 years old. "I knew all the words," she said.
3. Mother and daughter moment
Christine Smrdel, 39, of Cleveland, and her 11-year-old daughter, Lexi Smrdel, took selfies in front of the stage before the opening act started.
"We love Carrie and spending time together," the mom beamed.
Last year, they saw Underwood perform in Columbus. Lexi was impressed. Underwood ranks No. 2 as her favorite musical artist behind Taylor Swift.
Asked what to expect Sunday in Canton, she grinned: "A 10 out of 10 performance. She's really great."
Mom said Underwood's vocals are dynamic and as high quality as the studio recordings. Both inside and outside the stadium, I could vouch for that — the powerhouse singer has seemingly endless range, her voice carrying pristinely far beyond the gates.
4. Celebrity sighting
There was a celebrity sighting at the concert — Warren Moon , the Hall of Fame quarterback.
Chris Schade, an employee of the Canton Repository, said she was pleasantly surprised to find herself seated next to the former Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings star in the first four rows.
"All the Canton chamber employees were chatting with him and welcoming him back 'home' as all the past enshrinees call Canton," she wrote in an email. "... Since I work closely with the chamber and know them personally, I asked them first to make sure before I asked him for his picture.
"... Then, of course, I started something ... (and) everyone around was asking for photos," Schade added. "I think everyone was afraid to ask until I broke the barrier.
"I had convinced (Moon) to let me get a picture with him to make my husband jealous who would not come with me to the concert," she said with humor.
5. Carrie Underwood is 14-year-old girl's first concert
Luke Laubacher, 21, of Perry Township and Lexin Laubacher, 14, were part of a large group of family members who were hanging out in the parking lot before the gates even opened at 6 p.m.
Lexin was seeing her first concert.
"I do like her music," she said of Underwood. "I think it shows how powerful women can be, and influential."
6. Saving money on tickets
Amy Oster, 48, of Lake Township was with a large group of family and friends who were enjoying the concert from outside the stadium walls, near The Brew Kettle.
She said it saved her money on tickets, and was still a good time.
Oster, however, said she's enjoyed past Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival concerts inside the venue, including the Zac Brown Band last year, as well as shows by Kid Rock and Imagine Dragons.
Kim Fete, 60, also has attended many Hall of Fame Festival shows, including Maroon 5 and Journey, but decided to walk over from her house following a party.
"We feel like we're here," she said contently. "We can hear it but we can't see (Underwood), but my friends are sending me pictures. It's great. All I have to do is look at pictures and I'm there."
She grew up in a home close to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As an adult, she even bought the house next to her parent's home. And now she lives "a stone's throw away" from the Hall.
Fete's mom attended the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in the 1960s when she was pregnant with her. And as a young girl, Fete used to sell lemonade to festivalgoers for 5 cents a cup outside her home.
Fete and her family and friends, numbering around a dozen, were infectiously fun and endearingly hospitable.
And whether it's music or football, the Hall of Fame festivities are a time when they spend time together and celebrate.
Of her parents, she said, "They love this Hall of Fame."
Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com .
On X (Twitter) @ebalintREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: 6 fun and cool things about the Carrie Underwood show at the Pro Football HOF Fest
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