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As weird as it still seems that a Saints' regular-season game could be a massive marketing platform, Thursday's (September 9) opener against the Minnesota Vikings at the Superdome will be -- for the NFL, as well as NBC's pro-football and prime-time fall programming.

TED JACKSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE
Workers set up staging on Decatur St. at Jackson Square Tuesday, September 7, 2010 as the NFL prepares for the opening day concert to lead off the league's 2010 season opener in the Louisiana Superdome against the Saints and the Vikings.
NBC describes its approach to this game as Olympics-level attention, for which the network and its umbrella of cable sibling networks plan all-day-and-then-some coverage.

It kicked off Tuesday with an appearance by New Orleans running back Pierre Thomas and wide receiver Robert Meacham, playing for charities, on the prime-time NBC game show "Minute to Win It."
Reporters for CNBC and MSNBC are in the Crescent City.
Brian Williams, Matt Lauer and Al Roker are here (again).
New Orleans Saints TV coverage
Planned coverage for Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010
5 a.m. "Wake Up with Al" -- Al Roker hosts his national weather show live from New Orleans. The Weather Channel.
7 a.m. "Today" -- Roker and Matt Lauer host live from Jackson Square. Locals are welcome to hang out and watch the taping. WDSU.
2 p.m. Fox-8 News Saints Tailgate Speical. Four consecutive hours. WVUE.
3 p.m. New Orleans Saints on 6 Celebration and Countdown to Kickoff. Three-and-a-half hours in a row; former Saints coach Jim Mora is a guest commentator. WDSU.
5:30 p.m. "NBC Nightly News" -- Brian Williams will anchor from New Orleans, but the broadcast will be pre-empted locally by WDSU's pregame.
6 p.m. "NFL Live" -- Trey Wingo's daily show will have live reports from New Orleans. ESPN.
6:30 p.m. "Fourth Down on 4: Eye on the Saints"
6:30 p.m. "NFL Opening Kickoff" -- NBC's setup show, to include coverage of pregame festivities in New Orleans. WDSU and NFL Network.
7:30 p.m. Banner ceremony and kickoff. WDSU.
10:30 p.m. "Titulares y Mas" -- Telemundo's late-night show, airing at 10:30 p.m. on Spanish-language digital channel WGLA (Cox Communications channel 16), will originate from New Orleans.
12:05 a.m. "Access Hollywood" -- The syndicated entertainment program will feature New Orleans, with reporting by Maria Menounos. WGNO.
10:35 p.m. Friday: "The Tonight Show" -- Correspondent Jim Norton will be in New Orleans today to gather fan interview material for Friday's show. WDSU.Former Saints coach Jim Mora joins WDSU's coverage.
"This is a very proud city, and this team and that (Super Bowl) win means so much to this region, " said Mike McCarley, senior vice president of strategic marketing, promotions and communications for NBC Universal sports and Olympics. "When we kick off the season on Thursday night, we want the party to continue like it had never stopped on Super Bowl Sunday night.
"And it's not just fans of the Saints. It's football fans across America."
The slogan overlaying all of the coverage leading up to and though tonight's game -- "Back to Football" -- was the NFL's brainchild, McCarley said.
"Which is very easy to wrap your head around, " he said. "Very similar to back to school and back to work and back to the usual rhythms of life in the fall. A big part of that, and what people look forward to, is football."
Based on the recent Super Bowl's record audience, you could argue that there are few stragglers left to snag, but elements of NBC Universal's all-in coverage are targeted beyond the pro-football core.
" 'Broadcaster' is a very specific word, " McCarley said. "It's the very definition of what we do. Events are supposed to be big. They're supposed to appeal to a broad audience. An event is exactly what it will be on Thursday."

Television coverage of Saints-Vikings game will reach epic proportions | NOLA.com