FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 8th, 2021

NBC SPORTS INVITES FANS TO PAINT A PATH TO SUPER BOWL LVI, BEGINNING AT NFL KICKOFF GAME & CONTINUING FOR EACH SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME

Inspired by Fan Input, Local Artists Will Create A Five-Yard Mural Each Week Culminating with 100-Yard Mural at Season’s End

14-Year NFL Veteran Vernon Davis to Host Events Throughout Season, Including On-Site Thursday in Tampa

Local Artists The Vitale Bros. and Michelangelo Rivera Featured this Week

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 8, 2021 – NBC Sports invites fans to paint a path to Super Bowl LVI through SNF canVS, a season-long interactive art campaign, beginning tomorrow at the 2021 NFL Kickoff game and continuing for each Sunday Night Football game throughout the season.

Each week in the host city of the SNF matchup, local artists will create a five-yard long mural inspired by fan input that epitomizes the fanbase’s love for their team. At the end of the season, each of the 20 five-yard murals will come together to create a 100-yard masterpiece showcasing the painted pride that captures the devotion and passion of fans and featured in Los Angeles in February.

The first mural will be created tomorrow in Tampa Bay at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park. Beginning at Noon ET tomorrow, fans attending the NFL Kickoff Experience and Watch Party in Tampa Bay can participate in the interactive mural for the Buccaneers-Cowboys matchup (8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and Universo). The mural masterpiece will be inspired by real-time feedback from fans, both onsite and digitally.

Fourteen-year NFL veteran and two-time Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis, who retired following the 2019 season and is an artist himself, will host Thursday’s experience in Tampa and will host additional events both in-person and virtually throughout the season.

The artists featured in Tampa this week are the Vitale Bros., prolific muralists who are based in St. Petersburg, Fla. Since 1992, the Vitale Bros. have painted walls throughout Tampa Bay and have had a major hand in St. Petersburg becoming a world-class arts destination.

On Saturday, Sept. 11, ahead of this this season’s Sunday Night Football debut on Sunday, Sept. 12 when the Los Angeles Rams host the Chicago Bears at SoFi Stadium, fans can participate in the SNF canVS’ interactive mural in Los Angeles beginning at Noon PT at Universal CityWalk located adjacent to Universal Studios Hollywood. The activation space in Los Angeles includes the live mural painting, a photo opportunity with the Vince Lombardi Trophy, multiple photo opportunities with art inspired backdrops and a chance for fans to win tickets to Super Bowl LVI. This mobile activation space will travel to four additional markets this season.

The featured artist in Los Angeles this weekend is Michelangelo Rivera, a painter/muralist born and raised in Southern California. Rivera creates murals and signs for schools, businesses and the community throughout California.

Fans onsite, and those who can’t be in person, can participate in influencing each matchup mural by going to nbcsports.com/SNFcanVS. The site includes each week’s completed mural, word cloud with the fan input, video from each live painting, a sweepstakes for a chance to win tickets to Super Bowl LVI and the 2021 SNF Schedule. Fans can come back to nbcsports.com/SNFcanVS as frequently as they like to check in on mural progress and to weigh in.

2021 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thurs. Sept. 9 NFL Kickoff Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sun. Sept. 12 Week 1 Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams
Sun. Sept. 19 Week 2 Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens
Sun. Sept. 26 Week 3 Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
Sun. Oct. 3 Week 4 Tampa Bay Bucs at New England Patriots
*Sun. Oct. 10 Week 5 Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
*Sun. Oct. 17 Week 6 Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers
*Sun. Oct. 24 Week 7 Indianapolis Colts at San Francisco 49ers
*Sun. Oct. 31 Week 8 Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
*Sun. Nov. 7 Week 9 Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Rams
*Sun. Nov. 14 Week 10 Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders
*Sun. Nov. 21 Week 11 Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Chargers
**Thurs. Nov. 25 Week 12 Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints
*Sun. Nov. 28 Week 12 Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
*Sun. Dec. 5 Week 13 San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
*Sun. Dec. 12 Week 14 Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
*Sun. Dec. 19 Week 15 New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
*Sun. Dec. 26 Week 16 Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys
*Sun. Jan. 2 Week 17 Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

 

*Flex Week

** Thanksgiving Night Game

 

–NBC SPORTS–