On Sept. 6, the NFL hosted its first game in Brazil at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, where a sold-out crowd saw a shootout between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers.
You may have seen the headlines and had many things race through your mind: “American football in other countries?” “This is a great expansion for the NFL!” As you dig deeper, you find there are some downsides to having games in other countries.
There was some controversy when the game was announced due to the stadium’s social rule of not wearing green in uniforms. Some players, such as Green Bay running back Josh Jacobs, believed it was due to gang ties. It is a “ban” from fans of football club Corinthians in the stadium due to their rivals, Palmeiras, wearing green.
The travel time and hassle that it takes for teams. It is a long flight outside of the country, and the Packers also had some hotel issues. Due to the Eagles being the home team, they got a hotel about 10 minutes away from the stadium. At the same time, the Packers were stuck with an hour’s commute to the stadium. This may seem minor, but small details such as this can put players’ heads into a spin.
The biggest issue with this game was the field conditions. This field is built as a soccer field. It is not built as an American football field. This made the field more slippery and less easy for cleats to grip. This was a huge change for NFL players. The field was an absolute slip-and-slide. On Saquon Barkley’s first carry of the game, he slipped on the field and fell for a 5-yard loss.
If the NFL is going to continue its pursuit of growing its market outside of the United States, they have a lot of work to do, especially when it comes to player safety.
The injury to Green Bay’s franchise quarterback, Jordan Love, was anything but lovely, and shows how bad fields and subpar preparation can lead to disaster for not only players but teams and owners as well.
The NFL needs to stop looking at the money bags and start looking at the money-makers. If you do not protect your players, they will get injured, which leads to bad play on the field, which leads to less viewership.
Will NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell make a change? No, but the issues must be acknowledged, and he needs to make a change. These players deserve better conditions and should not have to worry about an injury before stepping onto the field.
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