CMT Blog: Archive

God love these hard-working new artists. Like James Otto. He's opening a big arena show in the Chicago suburbs for Trace Adkins and Alan Jackson tonight (Oct. 10), and then rushing into the city to perform again at a fundraiser hosted by Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould. It has me wondering if it's because Otto's just a nice guy? Or because that bond between country stars and professional athletes seriously runs that deep?

Even outside the world of NASCAR, there's always some kind of connection between sports and country music. Dierks Bentley is a pretty outspoken Nashville Predators fan. Tim McGraw is good pals with New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre. Darius Rucker and Tiger Woods are buddies on and off the golf course. And because of this Otto event, I'm assuming those relationships go both ways. That Woods, Favre and some Preds might like to catch a country show. (Plus, there are all those woulda-been athletes who opted for country music: Keith Anderson was invited to try out for the Kansas City Royals, Garth Brooks went to college on a track scholarship, and Toby Keith played semi-pro football.)

While Gould admits his iPod has some John Mayer and the Fray, his pre-game playlist is packed with Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts and, probably, a little James Otto. And I've seen Gould at countless country concerts. The arena ones where he gets mobbed for autographs before the show. And the smaller honky-tonk shows where he can sort of disappear into the general admission crowd. But what's consistent is his genuine appreciation for the music. It's like the tables turn, and for 90 minutes, Gould isn't the star anymore. He's just another diehard country fan.