George Kittle is a world-class athlete, having played on the biggest stages the NFL has to offer. However, some moments in Kittle's life always will stand out because of nervous he was.
On Friday, Kittle joined Greg Papa and John Lund on KNBR's "Papa and Lund" show and shared what was going through his mind as he prepared to sing Kelly Clarkson's hit "My Life Would Suck Without You" at the 2023 NFL Honors.
"That was the most nervous I've ever been in my entire career," Kittle explained to Papa and Lund. "Oh my gosh, I'm singing Kelly Clarkson and we go in there the day before. I do a rehearsal thing and I'm like, 'Yeah, OK,' and like they sent me a script. It's like three verses. I'm like 'OK, this is a lot.' "
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The 29-year-old recalled being told he'd be the last one to practice, after Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan. At first, Kittle was in awe hearing Cousins and Jordan's "incredible" singing ability and the fact that they had backup singers.
Then, it was Kittle's turn to practice.
"It's me -- I have three verses and a chorus by myself," Kittle continued. "I was like, 'Guys!' and then a guy goes, 'Hey, what pitch do you sing in?' and I said, 'I play football bro, I don't know man, just figure out. I don't know what you want me to do, I don't sing Kelly Clarkson.' "
Despite not having the tonal range to handle the song, Kittle doesn't regret singing, no matter how nervous he was at first.
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"But hey, you know what? I went up there and I did it," Kittle said proudly. "I'm happy that I did it; I had a great time ... It might not be in my full range, but hey, you know what? I'm confident enough to do it."
For those who might not remember, Kittle belted out his version of Clarkson's 2009 hit at the 2023 NFL Honors, to mixed reviews.
Kittle's father, Bruce, understood that his son's performance had a lot of room to grow, but he still enjoyed the fact that his son had fun doing it.
"Good or bad, it was more about the fun of it and I was really proud of him, just for having the canucks to get up there in front of everybody," Bruce told NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan shortly after the performance. "I was a little surprised by how many texts I got saying, 'Man, he's got a terrible signing voice,' and I was like, 'That's not really the point -- it was just for fun.' "
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As fun-loving as Kittle is, it's refreshing to see that even he, an NFL star, gets nervous when he has to perform in front of a crowd, even though he could have bowed out.
And because he didn't bow out, Kittle now has an amazing story he can tell.