NFL fans took to the internet to praise the performance of the American national anthem before the kickoff of an NFC Wild Card game in Philadelphia.

With the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Green Bay Packers in the mid-afternoon game, the Eagles hired a performer to do a rendition of the national anthem as is customary.

The Eagles brought out a saxophonist who goes by the stage name of Vanya Sax to do an instrumental rendition of the song and it struck a chord with fans around the league.

Vanya’s smooth performance was punctuated by a very long high note in the penultimate verse of the song that drew cheers from the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field.

Not only did the anthem garner attention, but the decision to have a live bald eagle fly around the stadium also was praised by users on social media.

‘Eagles pulling out a guy named Vanya Sax to do the Sax National Anthem is an ALPHA move. Eagles by 1000,’ wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.

full vanya sax national anthem pic.twitter.com/SnvaufrwbL

— ◇ (@H00DH3R0) January 12, 2025

A saxophonist, who goes by the name Vanya Sax, played the national anthem prior to the Philadelphia Eagles-Green Bay Packers NFC Wild Card playoff game on Sunday afternoon

A number of NFL fans on social media went wild with praise after the instrumental anthem

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ESPN’s Mina Kimes tweeted, ‘Sax anthem??? Eagles by double digits I fear.’

Her coworker at the Worldwide Leader, Scott Van Pelt, also posted about the anthem: ‘Sax anthem in a starter jacket with an eagle landing on the field is awfully strong.’ 

‘Ok this sax anthem COOKS,’ read a post from the popular college football twitter account @SickosCommittee.

Barstool Sports’ Big Cat posted, ‘Vanya Sax CRUSHED THAT,’ while ESPN’s Sarah Spain tweeted, ‘His last name is Sax? Truly born to blow, man.’ 

Another user wrote, ‘After that national anthem? Eagles by a million’ and included a GIF of a bald eagle.

On3 Sports’ JD Pickell wrote, ‘The saxophone community appears to be on a historic national anthem run this playoff season.’

‘There’s just something special about an instrument national anthem,’ said another user.

The anthem must have been a strong motivator for the Eagles as they forced and recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff. At the half, Philadelphia was leading 10-0.