NBC TO AIR “NFL KICKOFF 2011: BACK TO FOOTBALL” SPECIAL - Ingles

SATURDAY AT 8 PM ET

Features Jon Bon Jovi performing ‘America the Beautiful’ from NYC firehouse & kickoff highlights of Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum & Maroon 5

NFL Network & NBC Sports talent preview Week 1

To celebrate the kickoff of the 2011 NFL season, NFL Network and NBC Sports will present a one-hour NFL Kickoff 2011: Back to Football special Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8 PM ET on NBC.

The show, a joint NFL Network/NBC Sports production, will feature football, music and a tribute to 9/11 first responders.

With BOB COSTAS hosting from atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, the NFL Kickoff 2011 Saturday night show previews the Week 1 games with commentary and analysis from NFL Network and NBC Sports talent. In addition, the special features a Costas interview with New York Jets head coach REX RYAN and a look ahead to the debut of the new NFL Films-produced NFL Turning Point, which premieres on VERSUS on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 10 PM ET.

Football Night in America’s Dan Patrick will host segments with Football Night colleagues TONY DUNGY and RODNEY HARRISON, who will preview Sunday night’s Cowboys-Jets game, and PETER KING and MIKE FLORIO, who will provide updated news and notes on the eve of the NFL’s first full Sunday of action.
The new six-man team from NFL Network’s Emmy-nominated NFL GameDay Morning – RICH EISEN, MARSHALL FAULK, STEVE MARIUCCI, MICHAEL IRVIN, WARREN SAPP and newcomer KURT WARNER – will debate whether the Philadelphia Eagles are truly the ‘dream team’ of the 2011 NFL season and provide their thoughts on what they’re most looking forward to this season.
From the field to the stage, KID ROCK, LADY ANTEBELLUM and MAROON 5 are featured with highlights from their NFL Kickoff 2011 performances at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

The show’s grand finale features rock icon JON BON JOVI paying tribute to the 9/11 first responders by performing ‘America the Beautiful’ this week at a New York City fire house (Engine 8, Ladder 2, Battalion 8). Ten years ago Bon Jovi’s stirring rendition of the song from the same firehouse aired nationally on Sept. 23, 2001 prior to kickoff of the first NFL games after 9/11.