Country music superstar Eric Church is a North Carolina native who grew up in Granite Falls, but he’s made his home in Nashville, TN for the last quarter century after leaving the Tar Heel State as a young adult.
Country music superstar Eric Church has lived in Nashville for the last 25 years, but he’s still a North Carolinian at heart.
Church is a die-hard UNC Tar Heels fan, and he has a minority ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets. He bleeds Carolina blue (with a dash of Hornets teal).
But despite Church’s allegiance to Tennessee’s eastern neighbor, the singer has the utmost respect for football fans across the Volunteer State.
Church joined his longtime friend and Voice of the Titans Taylor Zarzour this week for a sit-down interview that covered everything from songwriting to playing the national anthem at the Super Bowl.
During the interview, Church made it clear that he has a lot of respect for the passion he sees from football fans in Tennessee.
“The one thing I’ll say about Nashville [is the fans are] incredibly loyal,” said Church. “You can look at their college sports across the state — they are passionate. They’re incredible. If you’re from Tennessee, you’re by God from Tennessee. And I think a lot of that passion, which you get in music as well, is ‘this is who we are, this is what we are.’
“That’s something that not every city has. I’ve played the football stadiums and the basketball arenas — all of them — not every city has that. There are some that if they’re winning, [fans show up]. Nashville has never been that way, and I think that is a real advantage for what the Titans have been and what I believe we all want the Titans to be in the next few years.”
Eric Church details his all-time favorite sports memory
Zarzour also asked Church about his all-time favorite sports memory during the interview.
And Church didn’t hesitate to point out the 2022 Final Four clash between North Carolina and Duke, which was Mike Krzyzewski’s last game as the head coach of the Blue Devils, as his all-time favorite sports moment.
Church canceled a concert to attend that game (which was won by Church’s Tar Heels).
“Oh, that’s easy,” said Church. “Duke, North Carolina in the Final Four. We vanquished Coach K. I canceled a concert to go do it. I took my family, and it has never happened in the tournament — they had never met each other (in the tournament). And then to win that game, that’s my favorite sports moment of all time.”
Unfortunately for Church, the Tar Heels blew a 15 point halftime lead in the national championship game against Kansas two days later.