SAO PAULO (AP) — A nine-hour flight to Brazil and some time practicing under the sun in Sao Paulo seem to have softened the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers ahead of their season opener on Friday.
Numerous players and coaches made comments before the trip suggesting they were unenthusiastic, concerned or downright grumpy about participating in the first NFL game in South America. But on Thursday, excitement drowned out those concerns.
The Eagles are the home team for the game at NeoQuimica Arena, nearly 4,800 miles from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Sao Paulo venue is the home of soccer club Corinthians and was used for the 2014 World Cup. More than 42,000 fans were expected to attend.
Friday games are rare in the NFL, which usually cedes that night to high school football.
“We all grew up playing on Friday nights under the Friday night lights,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Thursday. “We might not be in Jamestown, New York, Houston or Cleveland. We are in Brazil. But it is still going to be Friday night, just like we all grew up playing this game. I got goosebumps really thinking about it.”
Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said on his podcast earlier this week that he didn’t want to go to Brazil. (He later apologized.) Wide receiver DeVonta Smith simply said, “No comment,” when he was asked about playing in Sao Paulo. Packers cornerback Eric Stokes said he was told not to leave the team hotel.
Sao Paulo authorities said Wednesday they are beefing up security to address those concerns.
Sirianni said his team has received first-class treatment since arriving Wednesday night. He added he is not concerned about crime in the city, an issue that several players have brought up.
“We came here to do a job, right? Our job is is not to come and go sightseeing or anything like that. Our job is to come here and play a football game against a very good opponent and try to win. Our job is to focus on just that, and not anything outside,” Sirianni said.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who along with the Packers’ Jordan Love is depicted in a giant mural on the side of a building in Sao Paulo, said he appreciated the chance to be an ambassador for the sport.
“I am a kid from East Houston that used to play this game in the streets. Any piece of grass I could find, I would go throw the ball around and really just enjoy the game,” Hurts said. “Just having the opportunity to come this far in this journey and be where we are, my spirit is full of gratitude to be here. It is a blessing to play in an international game and enjoy this moment with the people of Brazil.”
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley surprised local reporters by displaying a jersey from Brazil’s national soccer team with his name on the back. He said it had been sent to him by the country’s soccer association.
Tanner McKee, Philadelphia’s third-string quarterback, spent 21 months in Brazil on a Mormon mission. Speaking in Portuguese, he said most of the concerns raised by his teammates could be attributed to their “fear of the unknown.”
The 24-year-old McKee lived in Sao Paulo and in the Southern city of Curitiba.
“Most of them never visited Brazil, they don’t speak the language, they don’t know much about Brazil. They know you guys like soccer, you speak Portuguese and your barbecue is great,” McKee said in Portuguese.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur also spoke some Portuguese to the local media.
“Bom dia!” (“Good morning!”) LaFleur said. Wide receiver Jayden Reed learned “Go, Pack, go” in Portuguese: “Vai, Packers, vai!,” he repeated to the cameras.
Two years ago, when the Packers prepared to play the New York Giants in London, LaFleur made it clear he wasn’t too excited about the trip. The coach had a different perspective this time.
“Your country has been great to us. The people have been fantastic,” LaFleur said. “We’re looking forward to making history tomorrow.”
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