FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 1st, 2018

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS SIX HOURS OF SUPER BOWL LII PRE-GAME COVERAGE THIS SUNDAY, BEGINNING AT NOON ET ON NBC

Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Liam McHugh, Kathryn Tappen, Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya, Mike Florio, Chris Simms, Paul Burmeister, and Randy Moss Preview Super Bowl LII with Analysis and Commentary

Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh Serves as Guest Analyst

Mike Tirico Reporting from The Winter Olympics, Which Begin Four Days After Super Bowl LII

Additional Contributors and Guests Include Olympian Bode Miller, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rutledge Wood with NASCAR Drivers Martin Truex Jr. & Ryan Blaney, and Famed Telemundo Soccer Voice Andres Cantor

Exclusive Interview with Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show Headliner Justin Timberlake

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Feb. 1, 2018 – NBC Sports will preview Super Bowl LII with a comprehensive six-hour Super Bowl LII Pre-Game Show beginning at Noon ET on Sunday, Feb. 4, on NBC. In the hours leading up to the game, NBC Sports’ Super Bowl LII Pre-Game Show will include live reports from the team hotels and the stadium, in-depth features and interviews with players and coaches from the Eagles and Patriots, and Xs and Os analysis from its roster of expert commentators.

Dan Patrick will host the Super Bowl LII Pre-Game Show alongside co-host Liam McHugh, who will be joined by NBC Football Night in America teammates Tony DungyRodney HarrisonMike Florio and Chris Simms, as well as the Sunday Night Football broadcast team of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, and Michele Tafoya. Paul Burmeister and Randy Moss will report from the Patriots’ and Eagles’ hotels, while Kathryn Tappen will be on location from the NFL Tailgate Party.

In addition, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh will join NBC Sports’ comprehensive coverage of Super Bowl LII as a guest analyst, providing his opinion and insight during pre-game, halftime, and post-game. Harbaugh is serving as a Super Bowl guest analyst for the second time with NBC Sports, reprising the same role he held during NBC Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl XLIX.

Coverage will also feature the events surrounding the Super Bowl, including:

  • An exclusive interview with halftime headliner Justin Timberlake;
  • A live report with Mike Tirico from Osan Air Base in South Korea, previewing the upcoming Olympic Winter Games, as well as from Olympian Bode Miller in Minneapolis;
  • Reports from the festive atmosphere inside the Super Bowl LII Tailgate Party, which will include NBC Sports’ Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rutledge Wood with NASCAR drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney, as well as famed Telemundo voice Andres Cantor and The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore; and much more.

 

Following is a summary of NBC Sports’ Super Bowl LII pre-game coverage:


STORIES ON THE STARS

Pre-game coverage begins at Noon ET on NBC with Road To The Super Bowl, produced by NFL Films, which examines the events that led the Eagles and Patriots to Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII.

Interviews: During the two weeks leading up to the game, NBC Sports conducted extensive interviews with Super Bowl LII players and coaches, including:

  • Dan Patrick with Patriots QB Tom Brady
  • Tony Dungy with Eagles QB Nick Foles, head coach Doug Pederson, and CB Malcolm Jenkins
  • Cris Collinsworth with Eagles DE Chris Long
  • Rodney Harrison with Patriots WR Danny Amendola

 

Hotel & Arrival Reports: Paul Burmeister will provide updates from the Eagles hotel, while Randy Moss will report from the Patriots hotel. They will also report on their respective teams’ arrivals at the stadium.

Hometown Heroes: How does a player get to the Super Bowl? NBC Sports will visit the hometowns of six of Sunday’s featured players – Tom Brady, Trey Flowers and Malcolm Butler of the Patriots, and Nick Foles, Jay Ajayi, and Fletcher Cox of the Eagles. The visits include the people who made an early impact on their lives, including former coaches, teachers and neighborhood friends.

Coach’s Clicker: Throughout the NBC Super Bowl LII Pre-Game Show, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh will join Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Dan Patrick and Liam McHugh for Coach’s Clicker segments, breaking down specific elements and schemes from the Eagles and Patriots.

Four Months in 2000: NFL Insider Peter King looks back to the beginnings of the Patriots dynasty in 2000, including the events in the offseason prior to the 2000 season that brought head coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady to New England.

Doug Williams and Joe Gibbs: Thirty years following the Washington Redskins’ victory against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, NBC Sports examines the special relationship between head coach Joe Gibbs and QB Doug Williams, and the story of how Williams was nearly traded prior to that Super Bowl season.

Nate Solder: A cancer survivor himself, Patriots OL Nate Solder and his wife Lexi Solder were dealt a blow when their son Hudson was diagnosed with pediatric kidney cancer when he was just three months old. NBC News’ Dylan Dreyer spent time with the Solder family as Hudson continues his courageous fight.

Zach and Julie Ertz: Eagles TE Zach Ertz and U.S. women’s national soccer team player Julie Ertz talk about the unique experience of competing in major sporting events simultaneously, as Zach and the Eagles played the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia at the same time that Julie and the USWNT played against Denmark in San Diego. Julie scored a goal in the win, and discusses the moment that she found out her husband Zach was going to the Super Bowl.

Michele Tafoya with Bud Grant: Michele visits with a living Minnesota legend, Hall of Famer Bud Grant. Grant, who served as Vikings head coach for nearly two decades, shows how he’s still a big part of the community with his annual garage sale, how he introduced the Viking Formation, and how he took on the bitter cold weather with no sleeves during the Vikings Divisional Playoff game against Seattle a few years ago.

Chris Hogan: The life of a professional athlete often results in extended time away from home and family, and Patriots WR Chris Hogan’s situation is no different. During the season, Hogan lives in Massachusetts, while his wife Ashley lives in Long Island with their twin toddlers as she completes her residency in podiatry. Chris and Ashley discuss how they find balance in their busy personal and professional lives.

Dog Masks: NBC Sports’ Super Bowl LII Pre-Game Show will examine the origins of the Eagles’ dog mask phenomenon, started by Eagles DE Chris Long and OL Lane Johnson and embraced by both the team and fans.

Faces of the Fans: Sunday’s pre-game coverage will include a segment featuring fans and members of the Philadelphia and Boston communities, discussing the impact the Eagles and Patriots have on their respective fanbases.

Patriots Clutch Super Bowl Performances: Tim Layden examines the iconic Super Bowl performances of a pair of current Patriots:

  • CB Malcolm Butler’s game-winning interception at the goal line in the waning moments of Super Bowl XLIX against Seattle;

 

  • LB James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return with no time remaining in the first half of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory against Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII.


ENTERTAINMENT

Justin Timberlake: NBC Sports’ Super Bowl LII Pre-Game Show will feature an exclusive interview with global superstar and Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show headliner Justin Timberlake. A multi-talented actor and musician, Timberlake has won 10 Grammys and numerous other awards. This will be Timberlake’s third time performing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, giving him the distinction of having the most appearances by an individual entertainer. Click here for more information.

Kathryn Tappen with Blake Shelton: Kathryn Tappen will interview Blake Shelton, country music superstar and coach of NBC’s Emmy Award-winning series The Voice, during pre-game coverage at the NFL Tailgate Party.

This Is Us: Kathryn Tappen will speak with cast members from the hit NBC primetime show This Is Us, interviewing stars from the grounded, life-affirming dramedy that welcomes viewers into a family they feel they’ve known for years. A new episode will premiere immediately after Super Bowl LII post-game coverage on NBC.

Musical Performances: NBC Sports’ Super Bowl LII Pre-Game Show will feature musical performances from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Sting, and three-time Grammy Award-winning country music artist and former Hootie and the Blowfish front man Darius Rucker, from the NFL Tailgate Party in Minneapolis.

Von Miller “Hot Ones”: Denver Broncos LB Von Miller participates in a segment from the comedic web series “Hot Ones,” the show where celebrities are interviewed while eating a platter of progressively spicy chicken wings.

NASCAR Hits The Snow: NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney will join Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rutledge Wood for a true “Bold North” experience, taking part in numerous winter activities, including ice fishing and snow tubing.

–SUPER BOWL LII–