Reba McEntire and Rex Linn Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Gateway Celebrity Fight Night Foundation
Reba McEntire is ready to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 2024 Super Bowl, and boyfriend Rex Linn is taking bets on its length.
“When Rex wants to bet on the National Anthem length,” McEntire, 68, captioned a Saturday, February 10, social media video from inside her dressing room at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
McEntire and Linn, 67, recreated the classic scene from NBC’s Friends after Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) and Joey Tribbani (Matt LeBlanc) realize that Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and Monica Gellar (Courteney Cox) are dating and had been sworn by their respective roommates to secrecy.
“I might know something,” McEntire as Rachel lip-synced after Linn’s Joey asked what she knew. “Oh no, I can’t tell you. What’s the thing that you know? Just tell me what you know.”
Reba McEntire and Rex Linn first crossed paths 30 years before they started dating. McEntire met the actor while shooting 1991’s The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw but didn’t pursue a romance until January 2020. “We’ve kept in contact with each other over the years, and we both know the same people, so […]
Linn replied, “I can’t tell you what I know.”
McEntire then replied, faking a laugh, “Well, then I can’t tell you what I know.”
McEntire will perform the United States’ national anthem ahead of kickoff at Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11, at Allegiant Stadium. In years past, many viewers of the big game have placed bets on the duration of the national anthem performance. For instance, Chris Stapleton’s iteration in 2023 was two minutes and one second, while Mickey Guyton’s version in 2022 lasted one minute and 51 seconds.
While McEntire has not revealed how long her rendition of the anthem will last, she’s been hard at work practicing for the big day.
“I prepare by being prepared. I’ve been singing the national anthem in the shower [and] when we get in the car,” McEntire said during a Thursday, February 8, Apple Music press conference. “Just to be prepared and knowing that everybody’s gonna be singing it with me, that helps.”
She continued, “If I know they’re singing along and remembering and having fun too, that’s easier on me too. But just be prepared when you walk out there.”
McEntire added that she is “honored beyond words” to perform the national anthem, which will be accompanied by Daniel Durant signing the lyrics in American Sign Language.
“It means that I get to sing a very special song for all Americans, people around the world who have really worked so hard for our freedom and to give us peace,” the country singer added. “It’s not about me. I’m the representation of this song. … It’s a good one. I’ve been doing it for 50 years and I’m really proud to get to sing it.”
McEntire and Linn have been dating since 2020.