Whether fans were rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs or the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night (Feb. 9), there was one thing that everybody could agree on: John Denver‘s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is a classic.

It was the middle of the second quarter during the big game in New Orleans, La., and Eagles were up 10-0 in a tense fight for the trophy.

But during a commercial break, fans in the stadium got a feel-good break from the action with a never-been-done-before, audience-participation-required ad spot from Rocket Mortgage.

A commercial for the lending company aired, and as the cameras went live back in the stadium, fans were encouraged to keep singing “Country Roads” from their seats in the stands. They delivered.

Fan-filmed video and video from the NFL’s official TikTok page showed just how enthusiastically game-goers participated in the stunt, creating a moment of unity between two rival football fandoms.

The crowd sang along so gamely that fans at home could hear Denver’s 1971 classic clearly on the broadcast.

A commentator for the broadcast described it as a “moment of unity,” and in the NFL’s TikTok post, fans jumped into the comments section to agree.

“This is definitely what America needs is unity,” one wrote.

“Was singing in the living room too, it’s just classic,” another added.

According to USA Today, the one-of-a-kind ad spot almost didn’t take place. Rocket Mortgage pitched a live game singalong, but Fox Sports initially said no, citing logistical hurdles.

Instead, they offered a compromise: A pre-recorded singalong filmed before the game.

Rocket’s chief marketing officer Jonathan Mildenhall reluctantly agreed.

“It would still be historic — we’d be shooting and producing an ad in the stadium and that’s never been done before,” he said. “But we wouldn’t have had that live magic.”

But just two weeks away from the Super Bowl, Fox changed its mind, and the live singalong was a go. Mildenhall says he “about threw up” when he got the call.

He also says that picking a song as beloved as “Country Roads” was key to making the plan work.

“[The ad concept] is unprecedented, but because of the affection America holds for ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads,’ that in itself is mitigating some of the risk,” he explains.

Another fun fact about the version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” that was used in the commercial? It’s got a big Nashville connection.

Nashville singer-songwriter Michaela Anne sang the whole first verse to the song in the commercial, plus harmonies throughout the song. Nashville musicians Robby Hecht, Jess Nolan and Jillette Johnson also sang on the track, and according to social media posts, they were unaware that their song was going to be used in a Super Bowl commercial.