Football Fans Loved Blackhawks Singer's Electric Anthem Before Bears-Vikings MNF Game

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The first Monday Night Football game of the season got out to an electric start thanks to Jim Cornelison.
Cornelison sings the anthems at Blackhawks games, and graced Soldier Field with his pipes before the Bears took on the Vikings in the conclusion to the NFL's Week 1 slate. The hockey vibes were absolutely perfect for the occasion:
10/10 National Anthem. No notes. pic.twitter.com/byEsg27xzE
— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2025
Football fans and personalities quickly took to the internet to praise Cornelison's singing:
This guy should sing every National Anthem until the end of time.
— Thomas Casale (@TheTomCasale) September 9, 2025
Few can do an anthem like Jim Cornelison.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) September 9, 2025
That was an unbelievable national anthem 🇺🇸
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 9, 2025
Jim Cornelison doing the national anthem and the crowd cheering the entire time is the best anthem in sports. Thank you and enjoy the game.
— Cole Adams (@coleadamss) September 9, 2025
If there was a Mount Rushmore of National Anthem singers, it’d just be Jim Cornelison’s face four times https://t.co/c7eFRtQDgs
— Jake Bedell (@JakeBedellTV) September 9, 2025
Cornelison, who has the amazingly appropriate X handle of @Anthem_Singer, posted how excited he was to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the incredible performance:
I’m headed to Soldier Field tonight to sing the anthem for #MondayNightFootball @ChicagoBears vs @Vikings There’s always some extra energy for MNF. Looking forward to it 😎 New season! Go Bears!!!! @NHLBlackhawks @IMS @jdouglas4 @mecum
— Jim Cornelison (@Anthem_Singer) September 8, 2025
Chicago sports fans are used to Cornelison's legendary anthems for the Blackhawks where the entire stadium cheers throughout. Now, they got to bring a little piece of the city to the entire country on one of football's biggest stages.
The anthem may have brought the Bears some luck too, as Caleb Williams scored a rushing touchdown to open up the scoring on their first drive of the game. The nine-yard scamper marked the first rushing touchdown of the second-year quarterback's career. Per Josh Dubow of the AP, the play was also Chicago's first opening-drive touchdown since Week 17 of the 2023 season.
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Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.
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