NASHVILLE-Tenn. – August 20, 2014 – Eleven NFL players will join six-time Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum recording artist Carrie Underwood for her performance of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,” the opening theme for primetime television’s No. 1 program, Sunday Night Football on NBC.
After making her debut last season, Underwood returns in 2014 beginning with NBC’s first SNF broadcast of the 2014 NFL season as the Denver Broncos host the Indianapolis Colts. Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET, and the opening theme will continue each week of the season to kick off Sunday Night Football, culminating with a special opening theme for NBC’s broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015.
Eleven NFL players, who have accounted for 44 Pro Bowl selections, five Super Bowl rings, three Super Bowl MVP trophies and eight first-round draft picks (five in the top 10), will participate in the open (nine, denoted with an asterisk*, took part in a shoot this past June). Following is the complete list:
New Orleans Saints TE Jimmy Graham*
San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick*
Carolina Panthers LB Luke Kuechly*
New York Giants QB Eli Manning
Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning
Chicago Bears WR Brandon Marshall*
Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews*
Philadelphia Eagles RB LeSean McCoy*
San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers*
Dallas Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware*
Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson*
Players who participated in this year’s SNF shoot provided some commentary on the set:
Philip Rivers on SNF: “It’s great to be a part of it, it really is. My children are all old enough now, and we all sit and watch it every week.”
Brandon Marshall on his SNF opening theme debut: “I’ve been waiting nine years to do this. It took you guys nine years, to give me a call, to finally do the open.”
LeSean McCoy on his vocal chops: “They might want me to replace Carrie Underwood…out of all the players, I’m definitely the best singer.”
SNF open veteran Clay Matthews: “This year they’ve got me stage diving and crowd surfing. It’s always something to look forward to.”
Luke Kuechly on preparing for his first SNF open shoot: “You know what I did last night? I watched the Sunday Night Football intros from the previous couple of years, and I was like…I like that.”
Jimmy Graham on his future in Hollywood: “I need my filming career to start today. Stunt guy, only. I don’t want to talk, you know?”
Colin Kaepernick: “I wasn’t singing, I was just going along with the words…”
LeSean McCoy, putting on his jersey for the shoot: “I don’t wanna mess up my makeup”
“Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” is set to the original Joan Jett song, “I Hate Myself for Loving You.”
Earlier this summer, NBC Sports Group produced for movie theatres a 2½-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of this year’s SNF open. The cinema spot was viewed on more than 19,000 movie screens in theaters nationwide. To view the behind-the-scenes cinema spot, click here. Underwood emerged from the promise of her 2005 American Idol win to become a true multi-format, multi-media superstar, spanning achievements in music, television, and film, where the six-time Grammy Award winner has amassed more than 95 major honors, sold more than 64 million records worldwide, and recorded 18 No. 1 singles, nine of which she co-wrote. Underwood was recognized as Pollstar’s Top Female Country Touring Artist for each of her headlining tours in 2008, 2010, and 2012. Her four albums, Some Hearts, Carnival Ride, Play On, and Blown Away – each certified multi-Platinum or Platinum – tallied 38 weeks at No 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart with songs that have now been streamed more than 800 million times worldwide.
A proud member of the Grand Ole Opry since 2008, Underwood last year became the musical voice of primetime television’s No 1 program, “Sunday Night Football” and starred as Maria von Trapp in the three-hour, holiday blockbuster and Emmy-winning, “The Sound of Music Live!,” whose airings attracted 44 million viewers.
SNF NO. 1 PRIMETIME PROGRAM ON TELEVISION FOR 3 YEARS RUNNING: For the third consecutive September-May television season, NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished as the No. 1 show in primetime in household rating, viewership and the coveted Adult 18-49 demographic, based on live plus same day data from The Nielsen Company (September-May). This marks the only three times on record that a sports series has been the highest-rated and most-watched show of the primetime TV season. For the 2013-2014 primetime television season, Sunday Night Football ranked as the highest-rated (12.8), most-watched show (21.7 million, viewers 2+), and the No. 1 broadcast program across the key demographics of Adults 18-49, 18-34, 25-54 as well as Men 18-49, 18-34 and 25-54 and Women 18-34 and 18-49.
2014 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
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Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks
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Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos
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Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers
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Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers
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New Orleans Saints at Dallas Cowboys
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Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots
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New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
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San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos
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Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints
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Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
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Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
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New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
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Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
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Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
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Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
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New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers
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Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
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Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
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*Flex Week
** Thanksgiving Night Game
For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com --NBC SPORTS GROUP--
Contact:
Dan Masonson
203/356-2790
Contact for Carrie Underwood:
Jessie Schmidt
615/491-7988
