College football bowl season kicked off with a full slate of games Saturday. One of the newer bowls of the day, the LA Bowl, features the UCLA Bruins taking on the Boise State Broncos at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Former NFL All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski took over as host of the game for 2023. The FOX football analyst previously was a guest host for New Year’s Eve in Times Square and signed a multi-year deal to host the game. The former Patriot and Buccaneer takes over for late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the game in 2021 and 2022.
As part of his hosting duties, Gronkowski announced he’d be singing the national anthem at the LA Bowl. And before Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, Gronkowski didn’t disappoint.
Fans took notice of Gronkowski’s anthem appearance on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Who did Gronk sing the anthem with?
Gronk appeared on Season 3 of The Masked Singer during his first retirement. His dance moves inspired confidence during his playing career but that episode revealed his vocals aren’t the caliber of a typical national anthem singer.
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Luckily, he had good backup Saturday evening. The New Directions Veterans Choir sang with him to help. The choir first gained notoriety from NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ and is comprised primarily of United States Military veterans.
What else is happening at the LA Bowl?
Besides a matchup between the local Bruins and the Mountain West Conference champion Broncos, there is a Gronk-related promotion at the game. A signature drink – the Gronk Cooler – is available to spectators at SoFi Stadium. His family’s business Gronk Fitness and Ice Shaker partnered with the game for promotional exposure as well.
The LA Bowl is the penultimate bowl game of Saturday’s action. You can follow the action here and the Independence Bowl rounds out Saturday’s action with kickoff at 9:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.