Michael McDonald Elevates Fiesta Bowl To The Pantheon Of American Sport

By the time I realized the Fiesta Bowl was being played on FOX, it was already too late to back out of covering this game. The discerning college football fan’s least favorite network’s infamously careless camera work has been counteracted early and immutably, however, and FOX may have won the heart of the nation in the process by trotting out yacht rock hero Michael McDonald to sing the national anthem.

Sure, the shots of the band will outweigh shots of actual football, the booth announcers are so close to the camera they appear to be starring in a hostage video, and John Cena is flipping the coin this very moment. But nothing can pierce the gentle cocoon of dulcet baritone warbling I’ve been swaddled in. And nothing in the pageantry of Thursday's title game, including the game itself, can possibly compare. Game over, man. Game over.