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Upstaged: Predators anthem singer upset by A-list replacements

St Louis Blues v Nashville Predators - Game Six

NASHVILLE, TN - MAY 07: Dave Haywood, Hillary Scott, and Charles Kelley of the band Lady Antebellum sing the national anthem prior to Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round between the Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Blues during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on May 7, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The longtime anthem singer at Nashville Predators hockey games has sour grapes over being replaced in the Stanley Cup playoffs by super star singers and bands such as Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town.

Dennis K. Morgan, who has been singing at Predators games for 17 years, told The Tennessean he has been hurt and disappointed by being upstaged by A-list country acts. Morgan said Underwood, who is married to team captain Mike Fisher, asked to sing in the first home game of the playoffs and he agreed to it. But the team kept bringing in special musical guests to sing.

“I’m not going to hide my disappointment and I told the Predators that I have been asked the same question over and over and it’s just really getting old,” Morgan said. “Everywhere I go — obviously at my day job (as a healthcare IT recruiting manager) and at (Bridgestone) arena as well as everywhere else I go to church, grocery stores, on the street, in meetings and in restaurants — people want to know how I feel.”

The team said in a statement that Morgan’s arrangement allowed for “nationally and internationally renowned musical artists to perform when available.”

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