Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Soccer rivalries, not gangs: The green issue for the NFL in Brazil
Much of the talk around the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers game in Brazil has been around safety concerns and a topic about wearing the green color — in the stadium and in the city of São Paulo.
This week, Packers running back Josh Jacobs went on Green Light podcast and said he was told they can't wear green, and it could be something related to gangs.
"They said that the part of Brazil we're going into, we can't ever wear green," Jacobs mentioned. "Like, I guess it's something with gangs and stuff."
Gangs, however, are not the reason why there is a conversation about color. Actually, it's nothing more than a soccer rivalry.
Corinthians, a Brazilian soccer club that owns the stadium where the Eagles and Packers will play, has a strong rivalry with Palmeiras, a green club. In comparison, it's just like a purple team playing at Lambeau Field.
And it's not that serious, either. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Nigeria faced Colombia at Arena Corinthians with green uniforms, for example. Every year, Palmeiras and other green clubs play there as away teams.
A Twitter profile from a Brazilian Philadelphia Eagles fan had a solid explanation about that.
On Friday, Josh Jacobs went on social media to apologize.
Brazil is not a completely safe country, but São Paulo has received multiple major events over the years without issues — FIFA World Cup, UFC. São Paulo has a lower homicide rate than Milwaukee, for instance. The NBA has taken games to Rio de Janeiro, a more violent city than São Paulo, and everything was fine.
Color schemes
When the Eagles and the Packers played most recently, in 2022, Philly went with their all-black uniforms, while Green Bay used white jerseys and yellow pants.
Maybe, the NFL decides to be cordial with Corinthians and decides this will be the combination for the Brazilian game. But it's not a necessity. If the Eagles want to play with green jerseys, they can. And if they use white jerseys, the Packers can use green ones. The league hasn't made that decision yet.
Corinthians president Augusto Melo talked about it, pondering that the NFL game is important for the club financial structure.
"First of all, the predominant color of one of them is white (Packers, if using away jerseys). We are very happy that it matches our color as well. It's a contract. As I have always said, our arena needs to be self-sustaining," Melo said. "It's a great satisfaction to be able to host such an important event. I am very happy. There is no problem at all. We need to make it self-sustaining."
You can travel to São Paulo, and you can wear green, soccer rivalries aside. The Eagles and the Packers can, too.
