Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has won over a lot of fans this season, leading the 14-3 Eagles to the top seed in the NFC and positioning himself as a finalist for the NFL MVP. But Hurts has never switched up on his fandom for Anita Baker.
Baker turned 65 years old on Thursday, January 26. Hurts tweeted, “Bumping @IAMANITABAKER All Day Per Usual, Happy Birthday” with a purple heart emoji. And Baker tweeted back, “Honored. Singing Songs of Victory, Your Way. Fly.”
The Eagles are preparing to host the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 29 at Lincoln Financial Field. Baker will also be there, and The Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Josh Tolentino doesn’t think that’s a coincidence.
“The magic of Jalen Hurts: Eagles just announced Anita Baker will sing the National Anthem for the NFC Championship Game on Sunday at Lincoln Financial [Field],” he tweeted.
Tolentino isn’t alone in that belief:
The National Anthem performer on Sunday? Anita Baker, an 8-time Grammy winner — and a Jalen Hurts favorite.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) January 27, 2023
Jalen Hurts gets his wish
Grammy Award winner Anita Baker will sing the national anthem Sunday at the Linc
Jalen is a huge fan of Anita and listens to her after games and listened to her this week
pic.twitter.com/vKgqU78PHw— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) January 27, 2023
Something that will make Jalen Hurts happy: The national anthem before the NFC Championship Game will be performed by Anita Baker
— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) January 27, 2023
Per NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro, the halftime performance will be handled by DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Over in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Cincinnati Bengals in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game. After Lil Jon performed at halftime of the Chiefs’ Divisional Round victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend, Fat Joe will handle this Sunday’s halftime performance.
