The NFL will open its 2004 season on September 9, 2004 with a one-hour pregame special -- "NFL Opening Kickoff" -- that will salute the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and feature a star-studded musical lineup with performances from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., and Jacksonville, Fla., site of Super Bowl XXXIX.

"NFL Opening Kickoff" will air from 8 - 9 p.m. (ET) on ABC and lead into the season opener between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium -- a rematch of last season's AFC Championship Game (ABC, 9 p.m. ET). The show will air following the game in the Rocky Mountain and West Coast time zones.

"NFL Opening Kickoff" will feature special tributes to the 2003 Super Bowl champions, take viewers into both teams' locker rooms and include performances from Gillette Stadium by Elton John, Mary J. Blige, Destiny's Child, Toby Keith and Lenny Kravitz. Jessica Simpson will perform from Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville, where the next Super Bowl champion will be crowned.

Top-tier partners for "NFL Opening Kickoff" include Campbell's, Canon, Coors, Pepsi and Sony Playstation. Associate partners are Gatorade, Gillette and Visa.

The game at Gillette Stadium and the link to Jacksonville on "NFL Opening Kickoff" starts a tradition of holding the NFL's season-opening event at the home of the Super Bowl champion and connecting it to the site of the next Super Bowl. This year it also reflects the Super Bowl XXXIX theme of "Building Bridges," which represents both the Jacksonville landscape with its many bridges and the many ways the NFL unites communities around their passion for football.

The free Jacksonville concert at Metropolitan Park, "Super NFL Kickoff Presented by Coors Light," featuring musical performances by Simpson and select artists, is being presented by the NFL, the Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee and the City of Jacksonville. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m.

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