Unique national anthem ahead of NFL Paris game between Steelers and Saints draws mixed reviews

PARIS — The NFL's first regular-season game in France opened with a musical statement that could only have happened in New Orleans — or Paris.

Before the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints took the field at Stade de France on Sunday, an eight-piece brass ensemble called The Soul Rebels delivered an instrumental, jazz-inflected rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." No vocals. No soaring soprano. Just trombones, trumpets, saxophones and a tuba swinging through the melody in a second-line rhythm that felt less like a pregame formality and more like a French Quarter street parade transplanted 4,500 miles east.

The choice was deliberate. The Soul Rebels are a New Orleans institution, born from the city's brass band tradition and steeped in the same French and Creole cultural currents that flow through the Saints' home. The band released a single titled "Saints in Paris" days before the game and is scheduled to perform from the sideline at the end of each quarter. They appeared at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans earlier this year.

Reaction on social media split along predictable lines.

"A New Orleans brass band doing the anthem in Paris is a perfect touch," one user posted on X. "The Soul Rebels delivered."

"Whoever's idea that was, give them a raise," wrote another.

Others were less charitable. "We might have a new worst national anthem," read one post accompanied by a crying-laughing emoji. Another simply stated: "It was a - ."

The performance unfolded against a backdrop of tension that had nothing to do with football. On Saturday, an estimated 110,000 demonstrators — students, labor unions, farmers, left-wing parties, pro-Palestinian groups, anarchists and self-identified antifascist activists — marched through Paris. Clashes with police led to nearly 1,000 arrests nationwide, according to French authorities, and officials reported seizing potential weapons from protesters.

The unrest forced Paris Saint-Germain, the capital's powerhouse soccer club, to move its Saturday match to Monday at the request of police. The NFL, by contrast, proceeded as scheduled.

President Donald Trump weighed in beforehand, suggesting the league should have considered postponing the game given the volatility in the streets. The NFL declined, and kickoff proceeded without incident at Stade de France, located in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis.

By Sunday afternoon, the brass band's anthem had already become the game's first memorable moment — a cultural crossover that felt exactly like what the NFL's international series was designed to produce, even if not everyone was ready to dance along.