Darius Rucker Built His European Following Early

Darius Rucker will kick off his touring in 2024 with a handful of dates playing shows in Europe. In April, he starts playing shows for fans in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.K..

When we talked with Darius recently, he told us that European fans love him for his country music and not necessarily for his music with Hootie and The Blowfish. He said, "It's totally the country thing. In Hootie, we didn't go there very much. We did okay over there, but we didn't go there much. It's definitely country music fans that are coming out."

He noted, "We did it right; when I first came to Nashville, one of the things I said to Doc (McGhee, his manager) was that I wanted to go to Europe a lot; I said, 'Let's get a foothold in there.' In one four-year period, we went there every year, and so we've got a really good following. It's even to the point where we put the tickets on sale for this tour, and the booking agent said next year when we come, we have to play at the O2 Arena (in London). And I went, 'Wow, that's awesome.'"

He concluded, "Now, we have a great following, and we actually make money when we go over there. One of my favorite things to do is play Europe."

Rucker was honored with the 2,766th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame early last month (12/4) in Hollywood.

Darius was inducted to the Walk by former Universal Music Group Nashville Chairman/CEO Mike Dungan. Rucker said from the podium, "This is stuff you don't even dream about when you're from South Carolina. All I ever wanted was to be a singer, but you never dream that this stuff is going to happen."

He continued, "Usually, you're going record to record or tour to tour, and when this happens, you get to sit down and think about the whole thing. You think about when the band started, in a dorm at the University of South Carolina, and then all the hard work, playing for seven years before you got a record deal. You think about going to Nashville and being told it was never going to work. You think about the first No. 1 (record) you ever had."

Darius concluded, "You think about all that stuff, and you have to believe in fate because one step to the left or one step to the right, and I'm not here talking to you. So you just thank God everything happened the way it did."

Many country music stars love their sports teams, whether it be basketball, college football, or baseball. And when it comes to the NFL, let's just say that some country stars go all out for their teams of choice.

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A native of East Tennessee, Kenny Chesney is a Tennessee Vols fan when it comes to college football, but when it comes to the NFL, he's a lifelong fan of The Pittsburgh Steelers. While he has played Heinz Field (now called Acrisure Stadium) many times, he visited the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp in 2015 to watch his favorite team in action.

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Chris, who was based in Texas and played there almost exclusively before hitting it big in Nashville, is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. He was quite happy over the weekend (1/16) when his beloved Dallas Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to advance in the playoffs. He was so pleased he posted a video on his socials from a trip to Hawaii to cheer his team on.

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This North Carolina native loves his Panthers. He often wears Panthers gear on stage.

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Blake loves the Arizona Cardinals and even took his then-girlfriend, Gwen Stefani, to a game in 2015 when they were dating. He always posts on social media about his team, and as they say, "He bleeds Arizona red." The now-married couple went to another game of Blake's fave team in November (2022) when his Cardinals played the Los Angeles Rams.

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Darius Rucker is definitely country music's most passionate NFL football fan. He famously said that he has two seasons, "football season and waiting for football season." A lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, he often sings that National Anthem at their games and did so this past September 2021 when the Dolphins played the Buffalo Bills. When he fronted Hootie and The Blowfish, he wrote the band's biggest song, "I Only Want To Be With You," in college when he was so upset that his Dolphins were losing, he started to cry, and his mother called him a baby. Rucker also has his own line of NFL wear.