The NFL widened its gaping foothold on the country’s sporting conscious when Thursday’s season opener came down to a toe.
Bedlam swirled before and after replay found that Baltimore Ravens receiver Isaiah Likely clearly touched the tip of his cleat out of bounds upon snagging a would-be touchdown pass as time expired.
Football was back—in the home of the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, no less—and the champs were in control. Until they weren’t. Until Ravens coach John Harbaugh flashed two fingers to signal his team would try to win with a two-point conversion following a TD nullified moments later.
KC improved to 1-0, but the NFL won, too. And while it’s doubtful the league will fall to a proverbial .500 after tonight’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, merely reading that in sequence prompts a little pause, right?
Viewers in Green Bay and Philadelphia and subscribers to NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, which has broadcast rights, should hear all about the NFL’s first foray into South America.
Expanding the league’s influence abroad is a familiar objective. It simply seems rushed to resume manifest destiny 24 hours after enthralling anew rabid fans and tailgaters in middle America, plus a national TV audience.
Friday marks the first of five international NFL games in 2024, preceding three in longtime league overseas favorite London and another in Munich. The games in Europe will be contested in October and November.
Perhaps the league is eager to reward loyal followers south of the equator.
Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president of club business, international, and league events, recently told Forbes that Brazil boasts 36 million NFL fans. Among international fan bases, only Mexico and Canada rank higher.
The capacity of Corinthians Arena is 47,000, which helped stir a supply and demand frenzy among Brazilians when tickets went on sale.
If only everyone involved on the field were so enthused.
Eagles cornerback Darius Slay told podcast listeners last week, “Man, I do not want to go to Brazil.” Other reports indicated he suggested his family do something he couldn’t: sit the trip out.
After weighing what team personnel told players as part of a “Don’t Do” list—including carrying a cellphone while walking down the street—Philadelphia receiver A.J. Brown lost some romance himself.
“I’m just trying to go down there and win a football game and come back home… But after hearing all this stuff, I’m probably going to be in my room,” he said.
Packers cornerback Eric Stokes, who’ll try to limit Brown tonight, may actually find common ground with him when the clock expires.
“Just don’t leave the hotel,” Stokes said of his itinerary.
To be sure, fan experience and goodwill events have been in full swing leading to gameday.
“Games are not necessarily an end to themselves,” O’Reilly said. “It’s not about coming in and just playing a game. It’s about connecting year-round in that community and in that country.”
The subject of diplomacy would probably divide an Eagles fan base whose muses won’t even sport the team’s signature color tonight. Wearing green is bad juju in that part of Brazil, they say.
The subject will likely be moot once the ball goes in the air.
At any rate, what was wrong with playing this game in South Philly on Sunday?
