Was that Darius Rucker performing in the Super Bowl pregame show? Of course it was!

At this point, it’s major news if Darius Rucker isn’t at a major sporting event.

Ryder Cup golf championship? Check!

University of South Carolina college football games? Check!

NCAA Tournament Final Four? Check!

College Football Playoff championship game? Check!

Super Bowl LII? Check!

Rucker has been known as a star who loves sports as much as he does music since his days as the front man for Hootie & the Blowfish. The award-winning country music star continues to affirm his passion for the best games in the world by being linked to them in one way or another.

Most recently, Rucker was spotted Sunday performing in Minneapolis, ahead of the Super Bowl LII matchup between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.

He was trending on Twitter, where people commenting couldn’t get over the mix of music Rucker and his band played. In addition to the country hits that have helped Rucker win three Grammy Awards and become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, he also broke out some of the hits from his days with Hootie & the Blowfish.

But Rucker didn’t stop there. The USC alum also performed the hip-hop song “No Diggity,” by Blackstreet and “Purple Rain,” by the legendary Prince, who performed during the Super Bowl halftime show 11 years ago.

“Friends” star Courtney Cox said Rucker’s performance was getting her “jazzed.”

There was no word who Rucker picked to win the Super Bowl, a matchup between USC alums and teammates Alshon Jeffery and Stephon Gilmore.

On Jan. 8, Rucker, a die-hard South Carolina Gamecocks fan was in Atlanta for the College Football Playoff championship game. Rucker performed in the pregame show for college football’s biggest game, less than a month before doing the same for the NFL’s title tilt.

On Sept. 3, 2017, Rucker attended the USC football team’s season opener against N.C. State, the first of many Gamecock games Rucker watched in person this season. That included the Nov. 11 game, where Rucker was honored at halftime for his work with USC’s women’s golf team as an honorary coach.

During the USC men’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament run last season, which culminated in the program’s first trip to the Final Four, Rucker was a constant in the stands. He famously shed tears of joy, proving more than the Dolphins make him cry, when it comes to sports.

Rucker has also been a vocal fan of the South Carolina women’s basketball team, and regularly and playfully banters with coach Dawn Staley.

Perhaps his favorite sport is golf. Rucker assisted the coaches on the 2016 Ryder Cup team, hosts the popular Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am in South Carolina, and hosts “On Par with Darius Rucker,” a monthly show on SiriusXM satellite radio’s PGA Tour Radio station.

He is also involved with several other golf events including the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate women’s event in Hilton Head Island, the Darius and Friends concert and tournament that has raised more than $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and the ACM Lifting Lives Golf Classic.

Rucker is is also a partner at MGC Sports, a sports agency that represents golfers and other athletes.

Rucker and bandmates formed Hootie & the Blowfish while they were students at South Carolina. He’s stayed loyal to the Gamecocks since and performed at Colonial Life Arena for USC students after the football team completed a six-win season in 2016.

This story was originally published February 4, 2018 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Was that Darius Rucker performing in the Super Bowl pregame show? Of course it was!."