The Deer on 'The Masked Singer' Is a Super Bowl Legend
Updated April 27 2020, 1:58 p.m. ET
UPDATE: We knew it! Nobody could mistake the voice of NFL Sunday's Terry Bradshaw, even if it's been altered to sound like he's sucking on helium. Read on to revisit all the other clues that led us to the Super Bowl champ, and check out the full list of unmasked singers so far.
Original story (1/8/2019): While we've seen some pretty surprising performances on The Masked Singer, it's honestly more compelling for the mystery of the singers' identities. While some are more elusive than others, I'm fairly confident in saying at this point I know the identity of a couple of the show's costumed contestants.
In fact I'm willing to say with 95 percent certainty who The Deer on The Masked Singer is in his normal 9 to 5.
First, let's look at the clues.
In the package before his performance of "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons, Deer dropped some hints about his identity. He considers himself a competitor and has the build of either a wrestler or football player. He's got a definite drawl that even the vocal distortion can't mask. He says he's been knocked down many times, "but in the Wild Wild West, you learn to get up and get back in the saddle.
Perhaps the biggest clue is "Ravens beware," which seems to point to someone affiliated with the Baltimore football team's biggest rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the Wild Wild West comment and a handful of other references seem to point to either the Dallas Cowboys or Denver Broncos.
In fact, I've seen some folks online suggesting former Denver Broncos legend Peyton Manning is branching out from singing along to the Nationwide jingle. However, those folks are after the wrong QB. Nope, this Deer's football career goes back much further, because all the clues point to NFL Sunday co-host Terry Bradshaw.
Let me break it down.
First off, this isn't Terry Bradshaw's first rodeo.
The Deer's country-fried rendition of "Thunder" sounded like someone who could have had a career as a country singer, and if you do enough YouTubing, you might come across this vintage clip of the four-time Super Bowl champ singing Hank Williams' "So Lonesome I Could Cry." Terry climbed to the 17 spot in the U.S. Country charts with this single when it came out in 1976.
For an example of how his voice has aged, he recently performed with the gospel group The Isaacs on a cover of The Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling" that definitely sounds like The Deer.
He's synonymous with the Steelers.
After graduating from Louisiana Tech, Terry was the No. 1, first round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he spent the entirety of his 13-year pro football career. So that "Ravens beware" clue seems pretty tailor-made for this two-time Super Bowl MVP.
And the clues pointing to cowboys may not refer to where he's from or the team he played for but rather a team he defeated twice in the big game: the Dallas Cowboys.
But really it comes down to that voice.
All clues aside, you don't grow up hearing a voice that distinct for basically your whole life and not recognize it even out of context. Terry has been the voice of NFL Sunday since 1994, and his drawl and cadence are pretty unmistakable. Let's just say if the man behind the antlers isn't this Hall of Famer.