Earlier this year there was some online conjecture about security concerns over Eagles fans wearing green in Brazil, as if sartorial choices would be the thing to worry about when Birds fans try to blend into South American society.
It's tough to pinpoint exactly where this all started, but all signs point toward this interview with Packers running back Josh Jacobs, who said on Chris Long's Green Light podcast that players would be confined to their hotel and driven to the NFL Kickoff event in Sao Paulo in armored vehicles because of "something to do with the gangs and stuff."
It turns out, there is a bit of an aversion to the color green in São Paulo thanks to a rival soccer team using that color.
But all the scary stuff about gangs and armored vehicles was apparently all BS, according to the NFL and its far-reaching PR apparatus, which quickly squashed the "rumor":
Just to debunk this: An NFL spokesperson has denied that the #Eagles and #Packers won't be allowed to wear green at their Week 1 game in Brazil because the color is affiliated with gangs. The NFL also denied that the teams would be restricted to their hotels with armored vehicles… pic.twitter.com/SqagzPxn85
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 7, 2024
Cool, cool. So all good, right?
AJ Brown, speaking to the assembled throng of Eagles media, which is covering the Brazil trip like it's diplomatic mission to foster world peace over a few cans of Miller Lite and hand-muddled caipirinhas, said, um, yeah, he'll probably just stay in his hotel room:
"I don't know. We had a meeting yesterday with a whole bunch of 'Don't Do's'.. I'm just trying to go down there, win a football game, and come back home.. After hearing all that stuff, I'm probably gonna be in my room."
He went on to say that players were told not to walk down the street with their phone.
So while initial reports may have been overblown about security measures for players (and fans?) in Brazil, it appears there was at least some truth to the precautions players may want to take. And like, somehow taking a bus with bullet proof windows (hell, opposing teams may feel compelled to do this in Philly) seems less draconian than not being allowed to pull your phone out in 2024 to avoid getting stabbed in the neck, or robbed at gunpoint like Ryan Lochte.
Anyway, what the Shield wants, the Shield gets. Football with two O's in Brazil. Can't wait for the 2034 tilt in Damascus!
UPDATE: No comment!
DeVonta Smith on how he feels about going to Brazil: "No comment." pic.twitter.com/veJnYAjAfV
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) August 29, 2024
