{"id":738084,"date":"2021-09-10T13:51:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T17:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=738084"},"modified":"2021-09-10T13:51:09","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T17:51:09","slug":"nfl-kickoff-a-packed-stadium-two-anthems-and-another-victory-for-tom-brady","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nfl-kickoff-a-packed-stadium-two-anthems-and-another-victory-for-tom-brady\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Kickoff: A Packed Stadium, Two Anthems, And Another Victory For Tom Brady"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnfl-kickoff-a-packed-stadium-two-anthems-and-another-victory-for-tom-brady%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=738084&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1339371642.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>There was quite a bit for NFL fans to process on Thursday night. After months of waiting, arguing over whether the NFL\u2019s COVID protocols were going too far, we finally got back to football.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Well, eventually.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened the season at home against the Dallas Cowboys, coming off a 6-10 season. The return of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott \u2014 holding a much-deserved 4-year, $160 million contract \u2014 was the focus for many, as was the return of all 22 starters from the Bucs Super Bowl roster.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Before kickoff, we were greeted by the familiar tones of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Michaels acknowledged the packed house in Tampa \u2014 the official attendance at Raymond James Stadium was 65,566 \u2014 which was a major change from the 2020 season that saw little to no fans in all NFL stadiums due to the pandemic.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The massive crowd comes just days after the college football season kicked off in front of packed stadiums over the weekend. The sheer number of people at games around the country \u2014 and the questions over whether vaccines were required to enter the venues \u2014 had the Left up in arms.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Tuesday morning, Fauci joined Jim Sciutto on CNN\u2019s \u201cNew Day\u201d and said he didn\u2019t \u201cthink it\u2019s smart\u201d for stadiums to be filled with fans.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOutdoors is always better than indoors, but even when you have such a congregate setting of people close together \u2013 first, you should be vaccinated,\u201d Fauci <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/sports\/fauci-blasts-college-football-for-packing-stadiums-with-unmasked-fans-i-dont-think-its-smart\/\">said<\/a> of the college football crowds. \u201cAnd when you do have congregate settings, particularly indoors, you should be wearing a mask.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To kick off the NFL season, a video of Alicia Keys singing \u201cLift Every Voice And Sing\u201d was played in the stadium with the help of the Florida A&amp;M Concert Choir. \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner\u201d was played shortly after.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cTonight, the NFL as it did last year will present \u2018Lift Every Voice and Sing,\u2019 also known as the black national anthem,\u201d NBC\u2019s Mike Tirico <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/nfl-begins-season-opener-black-025100414.html\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> during the broadcast Thursday. \u201cAnd it will happen at several league events during the year \u2014 the NFL continuing the attention around social justice causes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to a report by <a href=\"https:\/\/frontofficesports.com\/nfl-social-justice-2021-stadiums-signage\/\">Front Office Sports<\/a>, \u201cThe NFL also plans to make \u2018Lift Every Voice and Sing\u2019 \u2014 often referred to as the Black national anthem \u2014 a prominent part of all big league events.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And then, there was football. Glorious football.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At 44-years of age, we\u2019ve run out of words to describe the great Tom Brady. The Cowboys had very few answers for Tampa Bay\u2019s offense all night long as the Bucs showed what a full offseason can do for their chemistry.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While Prescott looked like he hasn\u2019t skipped a beat since his gruesome ankle injury during week five of the 2020 season, Brady looked like he was 25-years-old, and the defending champions moved to 1-0 with a 31-29 victory on a 36-yard field goal by Ryan Succop with two seconds left to play.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe margin of error is thin in the NFL,\u201d Brady <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/2021\/09\/09\/buccaneers-cowboys-nfl-week-1\/\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cOne or two plays, it\u2019s always that\u2019s the way the game goes. Fortunately, we found a way to win. I\u2019m really happy Ryan and the field goal team made that really clutch kick there at the end. That was great to see. \u2026 But as a team, we all know we\u2019ve got to get back to work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Brady was 32-50 on the night, throwing for 379 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted twice, but one was on a dropped screen pass to running back <\/span><span>Leonard Fournette, and the other was on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He connected with longtime teammate Rob Gronkowski for two touchdowns, and much-maligned receiver Antonio Brown had five catches for 121 yards. If it wasn\u2019t for Tampa\u2019s four turnovers, it\u2019s likely the game would not have gone down to the wire. Bucs receiver Chris Godwin fumbled at the Dallas two-yard line late in the fourth quarter, allowing Dallas to get into field goal range to take the lead.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Cowboys\u2019 offense was one-dimensional all night long, never able to get star running back Ezekiel Elliott involved in the game plan. Elliott had just 11 carries for 33 yards on the night. But the return of Prescott was the story for Dallas.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Coming off the dislocation and fracture of his right ankle, Prescott looked more than worthy of his new contract.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He threw for 403 yards and three touchdowns while completing 42 of 58 passes. Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb both went over 100 yards receiving on the night, but it wasn\u2019t enough to overcome Brady\u2019s performance.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI enjoyed every moment of that game,\u201d Prescott <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/32180362\/dallas-cowboys-quarterback-dak-prescott-throws-403-yards-3-tds-1st-game-11-months\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cHonestly, this whole trip, there\u2019s been multiple moments that I\u2019ve taken in and just missed the bus ride, missed the warm-ups, missed the fans, missed so much about this game that brings me so much joy. Being down in a game two points and knowing you\u2019re going to have an opportunity to go back out there and play. Just that resiliency \u2014 missed that. Missed that feeling that sparks up in me and the fire that it had. There wasn\u2019t a part of this game or moment I took for granted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The first full slate of NFL games kicks off this Sunday, September 12.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to <\/i><i>sports@dailywire.com<\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There was quite a bit for NFL fans to process on Thursday night. After months of waiting, arguing over whether the NFL\u2019s COVID protocols were going too far, we finally &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-738084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}