Tuesday, Bank of America is launching its new Olympic campaign, America's Cheer, inviting fans to upload video messages for the U.S. team headed to the Beijing Games in August. Sports celebrities such as Red Sox manager Terry Francona and the Yankees' Joe Girardi have already recorded their own cheers that can be viewed online at www.AmericasCheer.com.

Each week beginning in June one of the top cheers will be selected to air on NBC's Today Show.

Cheers can also be recorded by visiting the America's Cheer mobile tour, which kicks off in New York today and will travel to 19 cities across the country. Fans can meet U.S. Olympic athletes on the tour or write on a "Wall of Cheer" giant postcard that will be on display for athletes to view in Beijing.

It's all in an effort to connect fans with the home team, says Anne Saunders, Brand and Advertising Executive for Bank of America.

"We talked about, 'Wouldn't it be great if these athletes could really feel the support they have behind them? Wouldn't it be neat if you could get in a dialogue with the athlete?'

"We realized there was a lot of potential momentum that we could help foster and encourage and extend the experience of the Games for people. That was a big change to what we've done in the past."

As in the past, the bank will sponsor Olympic athletes through its Hometown Hopefuls program, which includes softball player Jennie Finch, swimmers Tara Kirk and Aaron Peirsol and sprinter Lauryn Williams among others. It also will sponsor a hospitality center in Beijing during the Games, where athletes and their families are treated to a home away from home.

The bank has been an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team since 1992. This year's campaign will cost an estimated $35 million to $40 million, said Joe Goode, corporate spokesman for Bank of America.

Goode hopes the campaign will reach thousands of participants who record their cheers or sign the Wall and millions more who will watch or view these inspiring messages online.

With the controversies surrouding human rights issues in China, some Olympic sponsors have been under pressure by activists. While acknowledging a "challenging situation," Saunders says Bank of America's sponsorship is "very grass roots in terms of the athletes we sponsor."

"I think for us sponsorship is actually focused on the U.S. athletes, rather than the Games themselves and that has been a longstanding tradition. Our support is independent of the venue where they compete."

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