Even before Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction,” the National Football League had decided to make its entertainment events more football oriented, starting with this season’s NFL Opening Kickoff special.
The league said it would control all content for its hour-long special, and would work closely with the performers to ensure appropriate behavior standards are met. The pre-game show, televised Sept. 9 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC, will be produced by White Cherry, a New York-based production company that has handled past Tony Awards.
Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, Elton John, Toby Keith and Lenny Kravitz will perform live at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, and Jessica Simpson will be performing live from Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville, FL, the host of Super Bowl XXXIX.
Top-tier partners for the kickoff include Campbell’s, Canon, Coors, Pepsi and Sony Playstation. Associate partners are Gatorade, Gillette and Visa. None of the sponsors will have on-field signage during the show at Gillette Stadium, but Coors will have signage at the free Jacksonville concert, dubbed the Super NFL Kickoff Presented by Coors Light.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league is starting a new tradition of having the Super Bowl champion host the first game of the season on a Thursday night. And instead of a pep-rally held at a stand-alone location within that city, the league will broadcast an hour-long televised live pre-game show held in that stadium before the kickoff and a pep-rally and live concert in the city that hosts the upcoming Super Bowl.
“We made a conscious decision even before Super Bowl XXXVIII not to have a stand-alone centerpiece to open the season because it took the focus away from football,” McCarthy said. “It seemed even before the Janet Jackson incident that the focus of the first two events (held in New York City in 2002 and Washington, DC, in 2003) was more on the celebrity performers and their performances. This year football will be the centerpiece and numerous football elements will be included throughout the show.”
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