SAN DIEGO – Executives at San Diego-based Pony will put business before loyalty when the shoe company's top NFL pitchman, wide receiver Randy Moss of the New England Patriots, faces the hometown Chargers on Sunday night.

Pony launched a “Can You Moss?” campaign at the start of the season using the enigmatic wide receiver, who caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes last season and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl.

The Patriots and Chargers renew an intense rivalry that has seen New England eliminate San Diego from the playoffs the last two seasons, including a 21-12 victory in the AFC championship game in January.

Pony employees plan to pass out Moss posters to tailgaters in Qualcomm Stadium's parking lot.

“Obviously you live in San Diego, you have a soft spot for all the sports here, but I think it's like 90-10 we're pulling for Moss and trying to have some fun with it,” said Kevin Wulff, Pony's president and CEO. “Hopefully we won't get booed or have things thrown at us.”

Moss wears a pair of white Pony cleats. Because of NFL licensing rules, there's no visible logo.

Wulff heads a management team that relaunched Pony last year. Looking for a pitchman with an edge, it turned to Moss, who had been traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Patriots.

“When we first called Randy, the first thing he said was 'If you were rockin' Ponys when I grew up, it meant you were doing something,'” Wulff said. “He was a Pony kind of guy, we're making a comeback, he was hopefully going to make a comeback with New England when we started the conversation. We both kind of got back in the game at the same time.”

The “Can You Moss?” campaign grew out of videos on YouTube that played on the phrase “You got Mossed.”

Moss was a loose cannon before joining the Patriots, making news as much for his foibles as his feats. After he was traded from the Raiders to the Patriots during the weekend of the 2007 draft, he shed his reputation as a selfish player who took plays off when the ball wasn't thrown to him.

Moss was elected a team captain this year. With Tom Brady out with a knee injury, the Patriots' production is down. Moss has 17 catches for 274 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yard scoring pass from Matt Cassel in a 30-21 win at San Francisco on Sunday.

Moss had eight catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns when the Patriots beat the Chargers 38-14 in the last regular-season meeting, Sept. 16, 2007, at Foxborough.