Darius Rucker is a diehard football fan, which makes his upcoming gig that much sweeter. The singer-songwriter will perform the national anthem at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, in addition to a free, pre-game concert for his fans.

"We're going to do a concert for the Allstate Fan Fest about 6:15 PM in the middle of the French Quarter," Darius tells The Boot. "It's a concert for everybody ... We're welcoming Arkansas and a lot of Ohio State fans."

But for his big trip to the Big Easy, there's something else the generous star is anticipating even more. "We're going to get about 400 volunteers and go down to the Ninth Ward and just clean up," Darius says of the neighborhood hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina. "That's something I'm really looking forward to being a part of. "

The Charleston native says of all the bowl games he could have performed at, this would have been his first choice. "This game is probably the one that, out of all the games, the one I look forward to, because it's going to be a shoot out with Arkansas and Ohio State," he predicts. "I look forward to the Sugar Bowl the most!"

The platinum-selling singer is such a fan of football, he even created his own interactive NFL game, End Zone Obsession, with the grand-prize being a trip to the 2011 Pro Bowl.

The Allstate Fan Fest will be January 3, one day before the Allstate Sugar Bowl, which kicks off at January 4 at 7:30 PM in the Louisiana Superdome. Darius will then head home for a couple weeks before hitting the road for several months in 2011. Find his tour schedule here.



Next: Darius Talks Christmas

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