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Harry Connick, Jr. Promo Spot for NBC's NFL Kickoff 2010

By April MacIntyre Aug 9, 2010, 17:10 GMT

Grammy Award Winning artist, Harry Connick Jr. EPA/Ron Sachs

The National Football League and NBC Sports have teamed up on a “Back to Football” promotional campaign geared towards NFL Kickoff 2010. 

Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Harry Connick, Jr., a New Orleans native and big Saints fan does the pre-season honors for NBC. 

The NFL season kicks off on NBC Sports on Thursday, September 9 when the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings in a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship overtime thriller.

The campaign features Connick singing his re-recording of the classic Frank Sinatra song, “High Hopes,” and Connick narrating the story of the Saints first Super Bowl victory, the impact it had on the city of New Orleans and the “High Hopes” the city has for its football team this year.

In past years, the NFL and NBC Sports worked together on numerous NFL Kickoff campaigns including the Peyton Manning/Reggie Bush practical joke campaign and the Manning Brothers Summer Fun campaign.

The NFL and NBC Sports crews recorded Connick at the Neil Simon Theater in New York at the end of July in addition to shooting in multiple locations in New Orleans, including on the legendary Bourbon St., as well as at a location provided by the New Orleans chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a cause very close to Connick.

The New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, working with Connick and musician Branford Marsalis devised the Musicians’ Village in New Orleans in 2005 to help restore New Orleans’ musical heritage.  The Musician’s Village includes homes built by Habitat for Humanity to provide musicians the opportunity to buy affordable housing.

Harry Connick, Jr. Promo Spot