A curious rumor began to spread on Thursday, the source being the mouth of Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs.
During an appearance on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, Jacobs was asked what he was most excited about about the Packers’ scheduled season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil. His response wasn’t exactly what the NFL and Brazil would have wanted to hear.
The two-time Pro Bowler, who signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Packers in March, said he had been told that people would not be allowed to wear green and that the area was dangerous enough for players had to stay. off the streets unless they were in armored vehicles.
Jacobs Comments:
They said that in the part of Brazil we go to, you can’t even wear green… I guess it has something to do with gangs and stuff.
They said, ‘We’re not going to go to Rio.’ They told us it’s one of those places where they probably won’t even let us out… They’ll probably have armored vehicles following us. I said, ‘Brother, why are we here?
They said, ‘Just pack black and white colors,’ because they said, ‘When you come here, we don’t want any setbacks.’
Since the Packers and Eagles are two of three NFL teams that use green as their primary color, scheduling them to play in a place where green cannot be safely used would be quite strange.
The basis of Jacobs’ claims boils down to football rivalries, as Arena Corinthians, where the match will take place, is the home of Corinthians, a club that wears red whose mortal enemies Palmeiras wear green. There is a considerable history of violence between the two fan bases.
However, NFL spokesman Michael Signora responded the next day. via Jeff Neiburg of the Philadelphia Inquirer and went to great lengths to discredit Jacobs’ claims. The Signora reportedly said, “You’ll see a stadium full of fans dressed in Eagles green and Packers green.”
He also added that Jacobs’ claims were “not true” and that “the discussion about the color green is related to football,” with no impact on NFL play.
By a Brazilian community of Eagles fans in X, the origin of that misinformation could be a joke made by a Corinthians representative when the match was initially announced, jokingly saying that teams should avoid wearing green. The Inquirer also notes that São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes made a similar joke about the jersey’s colors at a recent press conference.
Jacobs apparently got the message and posted: “Damn, I was misinformed. Sorry, Brazil, see you soon.” on his Instagram story on Friday.
With all of that hopefully resolved, kickoff is still scheduled for September 6 at 8:15 pm ET in São Paulo.