CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jefferson Pilot Sports' coverage of ACC and SEC football will open with a bang this season as each game will kick off with a special version of the hit song, "Play Something Country", by music superstars Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.
The new game opener, "Let's Play Some Football,'' will feature mentions of the ACC and SEC conferences as well as many of their member schools.
Jefferson Pilot Sports kicks off the 2005 football season Saturday with UAB at Tennessee featured as the Alltel SEC Game of the Week and Sept. 10 with Virginia Tech at Duke as the Citgo ACC Game of the Week.
Highlighted by a video montage of Brooks and Dunn backstage as well as clips from the single's video, the game open demonstrates the excitement and anticipation of college football by interlacing the footage of the country music stars with exciting ACC and SEC highlights. The video sequence follows the duo on their walk to the stage, evoking the same feel as when players "blow out on the field like TNT", as Brooks and Dunn sing in their new version of "Play Something Country."
"The tradition of those schools and what it means for a player to go play at even some of the smaller colleges and the huge football traditions, that's what makes college football so exciting," Brooks said. "We're big football fans."
"Re-writing the song just came natural ... it was pretty fun," Dunn said in reference to re-recording "Play Something Country." "Hey we're from the south, we love it, glad we could do it."
"We are extremely excited that Brooks & Dunn will introduce our ACC and SEC Football telecasts each week during the upcoming season," said Ed Hull, president of Jefferson Pilot Sports. "They are undoubtedly the most recognized duo in music. Research shows that our viewers are big country music fans and I think they are going to love Brooks & Dunn's "Let's Play Some Football" rendition of their hit single "Play Something Country."
The original version of "Play Something Country" is the first single off of Brooks and Dunn's new album, "Hillbilly Deluxe.” The album was scheduled to hit store shelves Tuesday.
With more than 70 major industry awards including, two Grammys, and more than 28 million albums sold worldwide, Brooks & Dunn have become one of country music's most popular and successful acts. Four-time Entertainers of the Year, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn have notched 22 No.1 singles, and continue to crank out the hits, including their current smash, "Play Something Country," from their new album, “Hillbilly Deluxe.”
The duo recently launched their "Deuces Wild" tour, welcoming fellow duos Big & Rich and the Warren Brothers on the road for one of the summer's hottest country outings.
Jefferson Pilot Sports began regional television syndication of ACC Basketball in 1982 as co-rights holder in partnership with Raycom Sports. The company added ACC Football in 1984, SEC Basketball in 1986, and SEC Football in 1992 to their roster of sports products. JP Sports broadcasts season-long schedules of live, televised games across a network of more than 70 stations throughout the southeast.
Jefferson Pilot Corporation, the parent company of Jefferson Pilot Communications, a holding company (NYSE: JP), is one of the nation's largest shareholder-owned life insurance companies. Jefferson Pilot's life insurance and annuity companies, principally Jefferson-Pilot Life Insurance Company, Jefferson Pilot Financial Insurance Company, offer full lines of individual life insurance and group life, disability and dental insurance products, in addition to annuity and investment products. Jefferson Pilot Communications Company owns and operates three network television stations and 17 radio stations, in addition to producing and syndicating sports programming.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)