SAO PAULO — A nine-hour flight to Brazil and some time practicing under the sun in Sao Paulo seems to have softened the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles 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 are 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.”