WATCH: DirecTV's Ad Features Gay NFL Fans

When the NFL's regular season kicked off on Thursday, it was a little more openly gay than ever before — but not because of Michael Sam.

The Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks squared off Thursday in the first regular season game in the NFL. And while fans were tuning in, an advertiser snuck in a welcome surprise for LGBT football fans — a 30-second spot featuring a same-sex couple.

DirecTV did not announce the ad before it aired during Thursday's game, prompting a flurry of generally positive comments on social media after viewers met the cute couple with a "friendly rivalry."

The spot begins with two men wearing jerseys crashing through the wall of a home in what looks like a tackle commonly called "embrace."

"Chris and I have a friendly rivalry," says the first man. "Giants — Cowboys, you know the deal. Sure we argue sometimes. But we're just like any couple, really."

With that last sentence, it becomes clear that the "embrace" is not a tackle, but an affectionate embrace between partners. After crashing through a few more pieces of glass, the men stand up and race one another out of the home, as a voiceover announces DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket.

As Cyd Zeigler at OutSports notes, the ad was all but certainly filmed before the regular season began, but one of the men in the ad is wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey — which happens to be the team that just signed out defensive end Michael Sam to its practice team.

Watch the spot below.