"We respect the fans' passion and enthusiasm for the game," said Brian McCarthy, NFL vice president of corporate communications. "This will be in many ways a Super Bowl-like atmosphere with a national audience to kick off the season. It's a tremendous matchup, but built around it is some of our activities that you would see at a Super Bowl or you'd see at an international game where you promote both teams."
McCarthy noted that in the 2007 kickoff, there were giant banners of Saints running back Reggie Bush hanging alongside those of Manning,Wholesale Football Jerseys, then with the Colts, in Indianapolis. Last year, there were subway lines named for Dallas QB Tony Romo and Giants QB Eli Manning. And the year before that, a huge banner of Saints QB Drew Brees hung alongside one of Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers at an arena near Lambeau Field.