HOUSTON – The Houston Texans are encouraging all Texans fans to wear white at this Sunday's season-opening game against the Indianapolis Colts to join the team, which will be wearing its all-white uniforms. The game kicks off at Noon CDT at Reliant Stadium. The Texans have donned all-white for their home opener in four of the last five seasons and are 2-2 in those games, including last year's 34-24 win over Indianapolis.
The Texans are also asking all fans attending Sunday's game to be in their seats by 11:45 a.m. at the latest to take part in a special pregame ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001.
The NFL will unite fans on that day by synching the pregame salutes during the Sunday afternoon CBS and FOX telecasts. The special pregame events that will be televised nationally also will be shown on the videoboard in Reliant Stadium.
All eight games kicking off at Noon CDT will feature a special video introduction followed by a performance of "Taps" from Shanksville, PA, the site where United Flight 93 crashed. Following the playing of "Taps," a moment of silence will be observed in all eight stadiums.
A field-sized American flag will be unfurled at Reliant Stadium for the national anthem and will be held by first responders including police officers and fire fighters. Players and coaches from the Texans and the Colts will join the first responders to hold the flag. Players, coaches and sideline personnel will also wear a special NFL 9/11 ribbon as a patch or pin on their uniforms and sideline apparel, and Reliant Stadium will feature the ribbon logo on the field.
The Texas A&M Fightin' Texas Aggie Band will perform at halftime of Sunday's game. The Aggie Band is nationally known for its precision military marching formations on the football gridiron and is the largest military marching band in the nation.
It was announced last week that the National Football League and the NFL Players Association will contribute $1 million to three memorials and two charities related to the events of September 11, 2001.
The NFL and NFLPA will contribute $500,000 to the 9/11 Museum & Memorial in Lower Manhattan, and $250,000 to be divided between the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA and the Pentagon Memorial Fund in Washington, D.C.
In addition, the NFL and NFLPA will donate all proceeds from the sale of auction items from games played on Sunday, September 11. These items, which fans can bid on at www.NFL.com/Auction, will include game-worn autographed player jerseys, coaches and player hats, and commemorative game coins used during those games. NFL Auction proceeds will be divided equally between Tuesday's Children and MyGoodDeed.
