The Philadelphia Eagles will be taking on the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, Brazil on Sept. 6 in the NFL’s first Friday night game of the opening season in over 50 years, the league announced Wednesday.
Let’s. Freaking. Go. Friday night lights aren’t just for Texas high school football anymore baby, the NFL is taking over the weekend.
The first-ever regular season game IN BRAZIL is SET! 🇧🇷 @NFLBrasil
And for the first time in more than 50 years, an NFL game will be played on Friday night of opening weekend. pic.twitter.com/9T4HGqXdkd
— NFL (@NFL) April 10, 2024
The NFL previously announced the Brazil game in December, but now we’re finding out it’s the Packers who will face Philly in this mean green Friday night matchup at Corinthians Stadium in São Paulo.
I absolutely love this move from the NFL. Play a game on a Friday in week one this year. Maybe next year we have some Friday games smattered throughout the season. In 2026 we’ll throw some Wednesday games on the schedule. Before you know it, the NFL will be on 24 hours a day, with 12 expansion teams to make a 44-team league. Non. Stop. Football.
You may think that’s just a pipe dream but who knows? The NFL just keeps growing and, if they can successfully tap into international markets like they’re trying to do with this game, the sky’s the limit for America’s most popular sports league.
It’s highly doubtful that football could ever supplant fútbol as the favored sport of Brazil. But we can damn sure try and get a foothold in the southern hemisphere with some good ol’ cultural export gamesmanship.
Now, not everybody is pumped about the move. (RELATED: NFL Kicking Off 2024 Season With Friday Night Lights In Brazil)
“It’s a damn shame some Americans are okay with Roger Goodell milking the Favelas dry and taking away football gamedays from hardworking American communities like Philadelphia,” one unnamed Daily Caller editor, who agreed to speak to me on background, quipped.
But overall, I think this move will bring in more international fans than it will alienate current patrons. People may complain, but when they’re out at a bar enjoying a crisp Busch latte and watching Jordan Love light up the Eagles secondary on a Friday night, I think they’ll be happy they have the warm glow of NFL football on their TVs to kick off the weekend.