“Kenny, You Were Part Of It”: The Heartwarming Story Behind Kenny Chesney's First Super Bowl Ring

Kenny Chesney has always come across as a man with a certain zest for life. We of course see this through his expansive catalogue of country anthems, such as the galvanising ‘Here and Now’, the radiant ‘Summertime’ and the philosophical ‘Beautiful World’. But this joie-de-vivre also seeps into other aspects of his life.

For instance, Chesney is a longstanding sports aficionado, with the Knoxville native often speaking about his deep-seated passion for American Football, Baseball and more.

With the Super Bowl LX approaching, we aptly find ourselves turning to a fascinating chapter in Chesney's new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, co-written with Holly Gleason, where the ‘Everything's Gonna Be Alright’ crooner reflects on how he ended up with his first Super Bowl ring, after becoming good friends with Sean Payton.

At the time, Payton was the Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints, who were vying for their first Super Bowl. Chesney and Payton hit it off after a few chance meetings on the road, with Chesney often spending time hanging with the Saints crew at practice. He warmly cites these sessions as a crucial way of switching off from tour.

In HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, he recalls the hilarious moment Payton unveiled the Saints’ latest star signing in front of a packed press conference, only for it to be Chesney in a white jersey.

The country titan goes on to reflect on how, after spending a lot of time with Payton and the Saints gang at practice and backstage at his shows, he felt as though he had become a fixture of their season, witnessing the rollercoaster ride first-hand.

Ultimately, Payton and his Saints reached their holy grail - the Super Bowl, which was being held in Florida, and would see the Saints pitted against the Indianapolis Colts, who had another of Chesney's friends, Peyton Manning, playing for them.

Chesney explains that Payton had been quoted an exorbitant amount for an artist to perform at the afterparty if they triumphed, “We were talking about the afterparties, especially if the Saints won. That's when he told me what the act the team's management wanted was going to charge them. I get it. Private shows are big money. But for a team that faced down Katrina a few years prior, for a team who had ascended to this unthinkable level? I was silent. Sean asked, “You there?”

He goes on, “Yeah, I'm thinking,” I answered. “I mean, you didn't ask me. But if you get my band guys tickets to the game, we'll do it.””. Payton responded, “Do it?”, with Chesney clarifying, “Play your afterparty. Win, lose, whatever. Get my guys tickets, and you've got a band for your party”. Payton couldn't believe Chesney's generosity.

Chesney recalls seeing his Dad meet one of his sporting heroes, Mike Ditka, at that Super Bowl, as well as reflecting on the bizarre moment his tour-bus drew up alongside the official Saints bus while they were both travelling to the stadium, “Pulling beside us, with a massive police escort, was Sean Paton on the Saints’ lead bus. Grinning from ear to ear, waving and shaking his head. The team's bus, with a presidential escort in front, alongside, and behind rolling up on us? All the cars in South Florida, the traffic for the game. What's the chance? Their police escort turned on the sirens, and they took off. We fell in behind them”.

Chesney describes the euphoria of victory, “In the suite, it was pandemonium, and then some. You can't explain that rush, seeing something incredible happen to your good friends. It was gonna be some kind of party, and we were the house band”.

After celebrating hard - and deservedly so - due to their win, Payton and Chesney crossed paths again at the former's home. Chesney fondly outlines, “Sean is a philosopher, a psychologist, and one helluva motivator. I learned a lot about how to live in those moments at games, as well as hanging at the beach. That spring after the Super Bowl, I went to visit. We were about to go down to the beach”.

He expands, “Sean says, “Hey, wait a minute. I want to show you something”...I stood there. He went upstairs and came down with a small box. “What's that?””, with Payton teasing, “Open it. You'll see”. Chesney couldn't believe what it was, “Inside was a Super Bowl ring. From Super Bowl XLIV, 2010. It had my name on it”.

Endearingly, Payton stressed to Chesney that he played as big a role in that season as anyone, due to their friendship, offering to play the after-party for free and being a prominent figure at training. Payton underlined, “Kenny, you were part of it”.

Of course, the five-time CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year would end up being given another Super Bowl ring by Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, after the duo watched Kraft's team come back to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in 2017.

We wonder if Chesney will be in attendance at the Super Bowl LX this Sunday (February 8th), with Kraft's Patriots once again contending for the trophy against the Seattle Seahawks. Perhaps, if they win, Chesney could add another ring to his collection.

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