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Eric Church Addresses ‘Noisy’ Decision to Cancel Concert for Duke-North Carolina Final Four Game

When Eric Church announced that he was canceling a show in San Antonio to attend the NCAA Men’s Final Four, some questioned it. The North Carolina superfan was not making the decision lightly. Think about it, Church plays dozens of shows a year. And there may be no celebrity on the planet who is more dedicated to serving their fans.

However, the way Chief sees it, Duke and Carolina in the Final Four has only happened one time. This year. That’s it. And for the country music singer’s sake, it was a good thing that his Tar Heels pulled that one out.

Church was recently talking on Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton and he broke down the story behind the decision. If you watched that game, then you know it was worth it to be there in person for Church and his family.

“I did [recover], first of all, the Duke-Carolina game was the greatest thing I’ve witnessed in my 44 years,” Church explained. “Very rarely does it live up to that. Having my kids there, this is the best part, they took to this team. To be able to spend that time with them was priceless.”

As a Kentucky fan, I get it. When the 2015 Cats team went 38-1, my family went to Louisville just to be outside of the stadium they were playing in. Those memories I’ll have forever. The best part? It isn’t something you can plan. Final Fours are never guaranteed. Church’s son, Boone, realized it was a possibility while filling out a bracket. So, dad said they would go.

“The chances were astronomical. Six days before San Antonio is when I saw it. I realized I can make up that show. But I can’t replicate Duke-Carolina in the Final Four. I can’t get that back. So it was one of those things where I knew I’d disappoint people, I didn’t know it would be as noisy as it was. But I made a decision to do it.”

Eric Church Facetimed the Tar Heels After Final Four Win

Look, Eric Church put off a concert, that’s tough… but, he witnessed what might have been the greatest college basketball game to ever happen. So, many would argue that one was worth it. Besides, Church loves his fans and already has a makeup show planned. And get this, he announced a free concert for the folks in San Antonio that were going to go to the initial concert, to begin with.

After the huge win, and retiring Coach K in the biggest win in rivalry history, Church spoke with the team that did it.

“I had a Facetime with all of the players after they beat Duke,” he said. Good thing it was them because Paolo Banchero of Duke doesn’t know who the country singer is. “It was just wild. They felt the heat. They’d been watching SportsCenter too. If there was anything I could do to help them beat Duke, if there was any extra emotion. They saved my bacon by winning.”

Hey, he’s right. Regardless of what folks think about his decision, at least his team won. If that isn’t vindication, I don’t know what is.