Tim McGraw liked the Stanley Cup. He loved it. But Tim McGraw made sure not to touch it.

That would be bad luck, according to hockey folklore.

Before the country music star performed his hit song — and the Nashville Predators' goal song — "I Like It, I Love It" during his concert Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena, McGraw teased a "special guest" to his audience.

"Hold on," he said. "It will be worth the wait."

Soon after, a white-gloved man named Philip Pritchard, whose title is Keeper of the Cup, emerged from a black curtain on stage, trophy in tow.

He placed it on a table that was covered by a NHL-branded tablecloth, less than 24 hours before the Predators were to face the Vancouver Canucks in Game 3 of their first-round NHL playoffs series in the same building.

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'I Like It, I Love It'

Then McGraw broke into song.

Spent 48 dollars last night at the county fairI throwed out my shoulder, but I won her that teddy bear

Standing front stage, McGraw eventually extended his arms, lifted them toward the sky and continued to sing.

By now, most of the sellout crowd was, too.

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But I like it, I love it, I want some more of itI try so hard, I can't rise above it

McGraw performed 20 songs during the 90-plus minute concert, which is part of his Standing Room Only Tour.

Social media reacts to Stanley Cup

Not everyone was a fan of Stanley Cup being in Bridgestone, though.

Hockey folklore again.

A brief look at Twitter showed some mixed reactions.

Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina. Follow his work here.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tim McGraw brought a special guest to Bridgestone Arena: Stanley Cup