After a rousing sendoff at Atlantic Station, the Atlanta Falcons arrived in Houston Sunday to begin their weeklong preparations to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
» Photos: Thousands of fans at Falcons' sendoff
The team will appear Monday night in the Super Bowl Opening Night, formerly a media-only event. Opening Night melds media interviews with a concert performance by the rock band X Ambassadors and a fan festival to create a prime-time televised event.
About 12,000 tickets were made available at the Houston Astros’ Minute Maid Park.
Falcons players will be interviewed at stations in the ballpark’s outfield and with fans seated in the seats behind home plate.
The event will be televised live on the NFL Network at 8 p.m. The Falcons will be on during the first hour.
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Need a Monday pick-me-up? Watch this promo for Sunday’s game, “Reign:”
The Patriots continue to be three-point favorites in what’s expected to be a high-scoring affair.
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Sunday Night’s Pro Bowl in Orlando was missing six Falcons -- Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, Alex Mack, Vic Beasley and Matt Bryant.
A sold-out, standing-room only crowd of more than 75,000 filled Camping World Stadium for the annual showcase, which reverted to its traditional NFC vs. AFC format.
This is the third year the game was played the week before the Super Bowl.
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