New Sunday Night Football Show Open Starring Carrie Underwood & NFL Players Premieres on Sun., Sept. 9 Bears-Packers SNF Opener
New SNF Open Presented by Pepsi

Carson Wentz, Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz & Fletcher Cox of Super Bowl LII Champion Philadelphia Eagles Make SNF Open Debuts

Steelers WR Antonio Brown, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, Rams QB Jared Goff, Giants RB Saquon Barkley, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson & Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Featured in Show Open

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 30, 2018 – In 10 days on Sunday, Sept. 9, seven-time Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum recording artist Carrie Underwood and NFL players star in the debut of the 2018 show open for primetime television’s No. 1 program, NBC’s Sunday Night Football. A sneak preview is now available on NBCSports.com.

Pepsi is the sponsor of the SNF open and will be integrated on-air each week.

Ten NFL players, who have accounted for 19 Pro Bowl selections, five Super Bowl rings, and four first-round draft picks, participated in the open and took part in shoots this summer. Following is the complete list (*denotes debut in SNF open):

• Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
• Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff*
• Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins*
• New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley*
• Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz*
• Philadelphia Eagles OT Lane Johnson*
• Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz*
• Philadelphia Eagles DT Fletcher Cox*
• Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown
• Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson

Tripp Dixon is creative director of the SNF show open, which features a new song performed by Underwood, “Game On,” which she co-wrote with Chris DeStefano and Brett James. The song was produced by Mark Bright and DeStefano.

The open makes its television debut on Sunday, Sept. 9 as the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

This season’s open ranges far from the sound stage, utilizing the DJI Inspire X7 Drone special drone technology to capture NFL players and their cities in stunning 6k resolution. NFL player action scenes were shot at high frame rates with the Phantom camera to accentuate their athleticism.

NBC’S “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” IS PRIMETIME TELEVISION’S NO. 1 SHOW FOR UNPRECEDENTED SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR: NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2017-18 TV season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented seventh consecutive year – breaking a tie with American Idol for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950), based on live plus same day data provided by Nielsen. Sunday Night Football also ranked as the No. 1 show in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic for the eighth consecutive TV season.

Meet Courtney M. aka CourtM21, this week’s Featured Care Bear! Learn more about Courtney and her Care Bear story below.

Where are you from? St. John’s, Newfoundland, CA

What was the very first Carrie Underwood song you heard? Inside Your Heaven on American idol

How many years have you been a Carrie Underwood fan? Right from that first Idol audition! 13yrs and counting! 🙂

How many Carrie Underwood shows have you been to? My goodness I’ve kind of lost count! 10 tour shows I believe, and 15 other appearances like Opry & awards shows!!

What is the farthest you have travelled for a Carrie Underwood show? I travelled multiple times from Newfoundland to Nashville & Ontario, but the farthest was probably when I flew all the way across the county to see Carrie in Edmonton, Alberta! I also won a fan club M&G for this show, so that trip will always hold a special place in my heart! So worth every single mile!

What is one thing that sets you apart from other Carrie Underwood fans? Supporting her no matter what! Carrie hasn’t played a show in my area, but that doesn’t stop me from going to see her. Each tour now I love planning out my next adventure to fit as many shows as possible in! I aspire to be like Carrie in so many ways, & only hope to be a fraction of the athlete, wife & mom she is someday! Thanks for the continued inspiration Carrie. It’s truly a priceless gift xo

Tell us your favorite Carrie Underwood related story: when I met Carrie for the 2nd time in 2016, she wrote out the words “forever changed” & it’s now a tattoo on my arm. Can’t thank her enough for those words & the daily reminder of how much her & her music have influenced my life!

If you haven’t already, enter to be the next Featured Care Bear here.

Meet Sarah N. aka SNaumchik, this week’s Featured Care Bear! Learn more about Sarah and her Care Bear story below.

Where are you from? Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, USA

What was the very first Carrie Underwood song you heard? Before He Cheats

How many years have you been a Carrie Underwood fan? 11 years

How many Carrie Underwood shows have you been to? 6 (2 Play On, 1 Blown Away, 2 Storyteller, 1 Atlantic City *non tour*)

What is the farthest you have travelled for a Carrie Underwood show? 3 hours to Hershey, Pennsylvania

What is one thing that sets you apart from other Carrie Underwood fans? The one thing that may set me apart from other fans is my devotion. Ever since I was about 7 years old, Carrie has been one of my favorite people. Not only has her music got me through different points of my life, but I believe she is a great person to look up to. Being a Carrie Underwood fan has been one of my notable characteristics for the majority of my life. Between my 20+ T-shirt collection and enthusiasm with new music, everyone in my relative vicinity knows I’m a huge fan. It makes me smile reading my yearbook when friends wrote that they cannot hear a Carrie song without thinking about me. Now being 18, it is wild to think that I’ve been such a fan for more than half my life, and it doesn’t look like my fandom will end any time soon.

Tell us your favorite Carrie Underwood related story: There are so many Carrie stories, but I would have to say my favorite is fairly recent, happening on 6-29-18. I was able to go to Carrie’s show in Atlantic City, at the new HardRock Casino. It was just a random show that happened to fall a week after my HS graduation and a week before my 18th birthday. My 2 favorite teachers in the whole world were there and I was able to experience their first Carrie concert with them. Usually I just go with my dad, because not many of my friends like country music, so having them there made my graduation/birthday present one of my favorite memories.

If you haven’t already, enter to be the next Featured Care Bear here.

Meet Melissa M. aka Meliissaaxo, this week’s Featured Care Bear! Learn more about Melissa and her Care Bear story below.

Where are you from? Vernon, CT

What was the very first Carrie Underwood song you heard? Jesus Take the Wheel

How many years have you been a Carrie Underwood fan? 13

How many Carrie Underwood shows have you been to? 9

What is the farthest you have travelled for a Carrie Underwood show? Nashville (1100 Miles)

What is one thing that sets you apart from other Carrie Underwood fans? I’ve always adored Carrie and her music like others have since her Idol days but I think for me personally my biggest Carrie inspiration comes from her health and fitness. I’ve always struggled feeling confident and there is something about Carrie that makes me feel so empowered – whether I’m listening to her music during a workout, or rocking some CALIA, it motivates me to be the best I can be.

Tell us your favorite Carrie Underwood related story: In June 2017, my friend Nicole and I had the opportunity to travel to Philadelphia and see Carrie’s show. We had gotten there early in the morning, made these cute Carrie inspired jean jackets, met other fans from all over the US and had a blast singing our hearts out. Carrie surprised about 15-20 of us that were there early in the morning by coming out after her soundcheck. If that wasn’t amazing enough, a few hours later Nicole & I were surprised with official M&Gs. What made this extra special for me is that Nicole & I met through Carrie’s FC and being able to experience my first M&G with her was absolutely perfect. I am so grateful for Carrie, her music, and the friends she has brought into my life.

If you haven’t already, enter to be the next Featured Care Bear here.

Meet Kariana L. aka Kari_Leija, this week’s Featured Care Bear! Learn more about Kariana and her Care Bear story below.

Where are you from? San Antonio, TX

What was the very first Carrie Underwood song you heard? Jesus Take the Wheel

How many years have you been a Carrie Underwood fan? Since American Idol

How many Carrie Underwood shows have you been to? Only one, which was The Storyteller Tour

What is the farthest you have travelled for a Carrie Underwood show? 8 miles to the AT&T Center

What is one thing that sets you apart from other Carrie Underwood fans? I am just one of millions of fans, but I think what sets me apart from other fans is my love for her music. I love Carrie as well, she is a wonderful, talented and beautiful human being. Her music is so relatable, and if I wouldn’t have heard her music, I don’t think I would be the singer I am today. I sing because I love it and because Carrie inspires me with her music. I do not love any artist and their music more than Carrie. She has been a role model to me a little more than half of my life. I really hope to meet her one day.

Tell us your favorite Carrie Underwood related story: When Carrie’s album Some Hearts came out, my parents bought it for me and we were at my grandparents house when my dad made a bet with me. He said I bet you can’t learn a song on that album and sing it by memory by tonight. I asked for 30 bucks for each song I learned. We shook hands on it, then I locked myself in my aunts bedroom and went through to see which song stuck out to me and I learned Jesus Take the Wheel in a few minutes. Then I heard Before He Cheats and Don’t Forget To Remember Me. I learned them both as well! And the last song on the album is Inside your Heaven and I learned that one last. I sang all four songs to my family and I ended up getting 120 dollars because I learned four rather than just one song. My dad was proud of me for setting my mind on something and doing it, the money… not so much.

If you haven’t already, enter to be the next Featured Care Bear here.

Meet Julene P. aka Julene_Justine, this week’s Featured Care Bear! Learn more about Julene and her Care Bear story below.

Where are you from? Garden City, MI

What was the very first Carrie Underwood song you heard? I first heard her cover “I Can’t Make You Love Me”, while auditioning for AI.

How many years have you been a Carrie Underwood fan? 13 years (I would use the house phone and both of my parent’s cell phones to vote for her on AI)

How many Carrie Underwood shows have you been to? 5

What is the farthest you have travelled for a Carrie Underwood show? Michigan to Tennessee: 528 miles

What is one thing that sets you apart from other Carrie Underwood fans? I have a cat named Checotah.

Tell us your favorite Carrie Underwood related story: I moved out of my parent’s house when I was 19 & I had a hard time listening to “Don’t Forget to Remember Me” without getting pretty emotional because of how rocky the transition was. The same month of the move, my friend & I drove across the state to see Carrie perform at a county fair (I’ve never run so fast, but I made it to the front and center of the stage). Before Carrie began to sing “Don’t Forget to Remember Me”, she spoke on family, goodbyes, & then dedicated it to the audience going through exactly what I was at the time. My perception on the song was completely changed that day. For over 13 years, I have been a dedicated Carrie fan. The best part about this journey is knowing that Carrie is a person who struggles just like the rest of us, but through everything she has kept a strong relationship with God, family & she has always stayed humble.

If you haven’t already, enter to be the next Featured Care Bear here.

Meet Jodie P. aka Jodiea1996, this week’s Featured Care Bear! Learn more about Jodie and her Care Bear story below.

Where are you from? Wales, UK

What was the very first Carrie Underwood song you heard? Jesus, Take The Wheel

How many years have you been a Carrie Underwood fan? 8 Years ?

How many Carrie Underwood shows have you been to? I’ve been lucky enough to see 5 Carrie shows!

What is the farthest you have travelled for a Carrie Underwood show? In 2016, we travelled from the U.K. to NYC to see Carrie’s first headline show in MSG. We then saw her shows in Albany and Uncasville before finishing off our adventure in Nashville to see Carrie host the 50th CMA Awards. ?

What is one thing that sets you apart from other Carrie Underwood fans? As I live in the U.K., I’ll stay up until 4/5am to live stream Carrie’s appearances at award shows and other various TV shows/events. Also, to listen to the Opry stream whenever she plays there. ?

Tell us your favorite Carrie Underwood related story: Meeting Carrie outside the BBC Radio 2 studios in London, was by far the best experience ever. I travelled four hours just to maybe have a chance to say hello. She was so sweet and signed both CD covers that I brought. They’re now my most prized possessions. I also met two of my greatest friends that day. The wonderful people that Carrie and her music has brought into my life is amazing, and I’m so grateful for them.

If you haven’t already, enter to be the next Featured Care Bear here.

Meet Brianna Kotzbaurt aka Carrie319, this week’s Featured Care Bear! Learn more about Brianna and her Care Bear story below.

Where are you from? Amelia, Ohio

What was the very first Carrie Underwood song you heard? Before He Cheats

How many years have you been a Carrie Underwood fan? As long as I can remember

How many Carrie Underwood shows have you been to? Only one but I am hoping for so many more in the future

What is the farthest you have travelled for a Carrie Underwood show? Not very far because she came to Cincinnati

What is one thing that sets you apart from other Carrie Underwood fans? Carrie was probably one of the first singers I had ever heard. I grew up listening to her music. I was only a year old when she won American Idol but my mom watched it and voted for her all the time. I honestly don’t know what I would do if my mom hadn’t had liked her. See, the thing is, every fan says that their favorite singer has changed their life, but has it really? I know for a fact Carrie changed my life and she did it in so many ways. Her music touches my heart to the point where if I’m feeling sad, angry, happy, jealous, or even just confused, I can always count on Carrie to lift me up. I think it’s amazing how someone can do that without even knowing your name! My point is that I love Carrie so much and I am definitely proud to call my self a Care bear!!!

Tell us your favorite Carrie Underwood related story: This is a hard question but I’d have to say my favorite Carrie related story is how she tried to make a record label deal. She didn’t make it but that didn’t stop her from trying out for AI and winning! This just inspires me and other people to follow our dreams!

If you haven’t already, enter to be the next Featured Care Bear here.