Rod Stewart is a rock icon, a music legend, and a lifelong Celtic superfan. Making his first-ever appearance on CBS Sports’ coverage, the 80-year-old singer joined Kate Abdo, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, Thierry Henry, and Peter Schmeichel for a pre-match chat.
What followed was nearly eight minutes of pure gold, with Stewart unintentionally delivering hilarious one-liners, getting names mixed up, and fully embracing the chaos—largely thanks to what he himself admitted: “I’ve had a couple,” he said, referring to a few pre-match beverages.
Although Celtic fell 2-1 to Bayern, Stewart, the CBS crew, and football fans online had plenty to laugh about. Right from the start, it was clear that the legendary singer was in high spirits.
Stewart’s chaotic energy flowed right from the start, as only a minute into the interview, the singer screamed, “Shut up!” directed to the announcer at the Celtic Park who interrupted Sir Rod. This distracted him from Schmeichel’s original question, which prompted Stewart to ask, “What happened?” getting a laugh from those in the CBS studio.
Later on, the atmosphere in the stadium ramped up with fans chanting in the background, sparking another remark from Sir Steward, “”Oi, shut up, I’m talking!”
Talking about what the team should do to secure a win against Bayern, Stewart, without a filter for national TV, went on to say if his side didn’t make any “cockups” in the first couple of minutes they’d have a chance. In the same sentence, he clocked on to what he’d just said, “Did I say cockups,” he said, laughing.
When asked by Schmeichel if Celtic had a chance against Bayern, Rod Stewart had a stern reply for the Dane: “Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn’t be here, Peter. Behave yourself!” in a telling off of sorts for the legend.
Probably the golden moment from the interview came when Micah Richards attempted to ask Stewart a question from the studio. Due to the noise at Celtic Park, Stewart struggled to hear properly.
When Schmeichel asked if he knew who “Big Meeks” was, Stewart squinted, leaned in, and asked, “Big Knees?”
Cue the eruption of laughter. Richards, unable to contain himself, tried again, but Stewart wasn’t done: “Oh yeah, of course I do! It’s Michael… Micah… thing.” Embarrased, Sir Rod Stewart acted as if he were leaving the interview, handing the mic to Schmeichel and almost walking away.
Fans love this new nickname for Micah: “Big knees is an incredible slander name for Micah,” said one user on X.
In another hilarious mistake, Stewart referred to himself as a “Celtic player,” mentioning how he’s proud to be one. He then went on to crack a joke, that he was proud to be interviewed by “Gordon Banks,” instead of saying Peter Schmeichel, which got more laughs out of the studio.
After all the laughs, Sir Rod Stewart seemed to have a moment of self-awareness, chuckling, “Right, you better get me off the air now—I’m embarrassing meself!”
The end of the interview saw a duet with Jamie Carragher, who’d been singing Sir Stewart’s songs all day according to Kate Abdo. The two sang Maggie May with Peter Schmeichel joining in, capping off a hilarious interview.
Fans online had a field day watching the golden oldie’s tipsy performance on CBS.
“Inject this interview into my veins. So good.” said one fan while another chimed in, “Drunk Rod Stewart on the CBS broadcast this is the best sports coverage on earth.”
It was “one of the greatest pregame interviews in Champions League history”, according to another X user. Even a Rangers fan enjoyed it: “I’m not Rod’s biggest fan for obvious reasons, but he was pretty funny there.”
While Stewart might have felt that he’d embarrassed himself midway through the interview, football Twitter is there to let him know: “Embarrassing? Not at all, Rod. You were box office.”
