5 off-field stories for Packers kicking off season in Brazil

cbarto66 | 09/03/2024

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By PACKER REPORT

By Daire Carragher

5 off-field stories for Packers kicking off season in Brazil

The Packers are bound for São Paulo in just a couple of days.

The week is finally upon us. The NFL season is here once again and the Green Bay Packers are one of the 8 teams lucky enough to kick their season off with a stand-alone game.

On Friday, the Packers will play a regular season game outside of the United States for just the second time in their history — the organization didn’t seem too thrilled about the prospect of traveling 5,400 miles before a ball is even snapped, but at the very least Brian Gutekunst appreciates the value of taking a road game out of Philadelphia — one of the more notoriously aggressive crowds in the NFL.

Which brings us to our first point:

1. Packers fans expected to outnumber Eagles fans in São Paulo.

International games are always a neutral affair. Especially when it’s the first ever game to take place in the given country — which will be the case in Brazil on Friday night. Expect diehard NFL fans of every team to flock from all over South America for what will be the first experience of professional American football for many.

Green Bay famously brought one of the most impressive single-team crowds to an international game when they traveled to London in 2022. However, I would anticipate Friday will be the least-traveled-to international game among American fans since the series began in 2007. São Paulo is one of the world’s largest cities, however it doesn’t quite match London or Mexico City when it comes to transport links from the United States.

That being said, the Packers are a massive brand in Brazil. The league estimates that Packers fans make up 1/8th of Brazil’s NFL fanbase — more than any other team.

With precisely zero exclusive international marketing rights deals, the Packers don’t place a ton of emphasis on expanding their brand internationally — they don’t really need to. But the Packers continue to grow beyond US borders regardless.

Global interest in the sport has increased exponentially over the last 30 years, and the Packers just so happen to hold the 2nd most victories of any franchise during that timespan. There are other factors too — one such example specific to Brazil, is the color scheme of green and yellow. Oh yeah, about that…

2. The ‘can’t wear green’ thing isn’t real oh my god

I hate that I have to explain this.

For some reason, the ‘ban on green’ discourse took on a life of its own, not helped by misinformed Packers RB Josh Jacobs — who hinted that the color ban was gang-related and that the team would be transported around in an armored bus.

ITS LITERALLY JUST PALMEIRAS COLORS. For the love of God.

Green is one of the national colors of Brazil. It is adored in every context besides from Corinthians fans in their rivalry with Palmerias — who literally play in the same city! When Palmerias play at Corinthians Stadium, they wear green! Their fans in the stands wear green!

The stadium has hosted several Brazil games — who wear green — including the opening match of the 2014 World Cup. This is like suggesting that Man United fans wouldn’t be allowed to wear red for a game at Michigan stadium because of Ohio State. It’s… stupid.

The Packers will wear Green as the road team. Perhaps the home team Eagles team wanted to pay homage to their hosts, SC Corinthians, by matching the team’s color scheme of white and black.

3. It’s going to be a ‘true’ night game

Philly’s decision to dress in lighter colors has nothing to do with the sun — It’s Winter time in the Southern hemisphere and the sun will set over three hours before the scheduled kickoff.

Moreover, to match the standard night-game kickoff times in America, the game will begin at 9:15pm local time — making it one of the latest NFL kickoff times ever — I can’t accurately fact check this — but I couldn’t find a single game that kicked off after 9pm local time in league history.

4. Potential ban on X/Twitter in Brazil

Elon Musk and the Brazilian government have been squabbling for quite some time now, and it seems as though the world’s 6th most populous country is about to pull the plug on one of its most-used social media sites.

The ban, which will come into place with immediate effect over the coming days, is more likely than not to be in effect when the NFL comes to town next Friday. The teams official X accounts (along with @NFL) shouldn’t have much trouble sending footage to a social admin in the offices back in the United States, but it may create quite a unique situation for the media and reporters attending the game.

So if you don’t hear from me, my VPN isn’t working.

5. The added advantage of playing early

The Packers will arrive back in the US on Saturday morning, where the mere 2 hour time difference will have virtually no effect on their body clocks. They will enjoy a full day to recover on Saturday, and get to enjoy the beginning of the season on Sunday afternoon with Scott Hanson and the rest of us.

There is an inherent advantage to playing early to begin the season — you get the extra few days of rest afterwards without the typical punishment of a quick 4-day turnaround from the game prior.

This additional time will afford Packers’ coaches some spare hours to look ahead to their upcoming matchups with both the Colts and Titans — Matt LaFleur has admitted in the past to looking ahead an extra week when you have extra days between games, ridiculing the theory of ‘one game at a time’. Neither the Colts or Titans would be considered regular opponents for the Packers, so the extra time to do some homework will be welcomed by their coaching staff.

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Kudos to Amy for making sure that the tickets to the tailgate party were waiting for me at the reception desk! Your personal phone call and text messages went above and beyond customer satisfaction! I can't wait for the 2024 season, rest assured that my go-to Packer's game supplier will be Event USA for a long time.
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-Jean-Pierre Mallette, Montréal, Canada

"Thank you so much Cathy, greatly appreciate your help. As always, EventUSA has been awesome to deal with in booking the Lodge Kohler package for the Tampa Bay Game, particularly for me traveling from Sydney, Australia, it takes the stress out of the booking process. "

-Kayle

"Good Morning, Nicole - Everything you did turned out great. The seats were great. Access to the air conditioned club lounge was great. Lots of Packers fans in the club lounge and overall at the stadium. The tailgate party at the fancy restaurant in the hotel was fabulous. The servers just kept on bringing out different sliders and desserts. Good thing that I got in a 30-minute run along the river in the morning. So, thank you! You may be speaking with me in November if I can work out getting up to Green Bay for a game. It's been too long since my last time. One of the best aspects of this weekend was interacting with so many people from Wisconsin and learning their personal stories of things Packers. And we even met a couple from St. Petersburg, Florida (my home county) and were able to tell them about the Varsity Club tavern and Packers bar in Clearwater where Mark Murphy's mother is in attendance -- very nice lady whose retirement home is in Clearwater, which borders my little city of Dunedin. Pre-COVID, I always went to the Varsity when the Packers games weren't televised locally -- lots of Wisconsin natives there, too + they serve brats and sauerkraut during Packers games. I'm glad that you are working for Event USA. "

-- Martin Lawyer, Dunedin, Florida

"Dennis - I was blessed to join Amy and some of your customers at the Morton's tailgate as well as after the game. She does an amazing job for you. Every single customer I met praised Event USA for being able to arrange the hotel and tickets and fabulous tailgate party in such a quick time. Having been to some great tour tailgate parties in Jacksonville and Kansas City and old San Francisco, a lot can be said of the long-term benefit of having really great tailgate parties. Morton's was probably one of the best - amazing food, patio sitting on the riverfront, walk to stadium, open bar!!! It was first class fun!!!"

-Matt

"Hi Amy- Just wanted to say thank you for making Jacksonville happen! We had a wonderful time and looking forward to more Packers games with Event USA in the future! Even though the game was not what we expected- we are packers fans for life-lol! Go pack go!!"

-Julie Mastrianni

"I want to thank Event USA and in particular Amy Flores for the Jacksonville trip. We have used you before and always were very pleased with the packages you have set up and your service. My son who lives in Charleston, SC and myself who lives in Minnesota, decided we needed to do a guys trip and decided to go through your company to see the opener in New Orleans. I initially called and talked with Amy about some questions I had and booked our trip. After itinerary and info was emailed to us, it soon became apparent that the trip to New Orleans wouldn’t happen. In steps Amy, wondering if we would be interested in Dallas if the game was moved there and a package was set up. Then finally the move to Jacksonville and continued communication from Amy on our interest. It was getting late at that point and I was wondering if she would be able to pull off setting up a package in Jacksonville. She did it. We went to Jacksonville and had a great time. The accommodations and the tail gate were fabulous. If only the Packer team we were hoping for had made the trip. Thank you Event USA and in particular Amy Flores."

-Tom Sohrweide, White Bear Lake, MN

"Thank you for all your help. I had a great time at the Packer-Raider game opening day. I have already begun telling interested Packer fans in Sacramento about your service. The next time I come to Green Bay for a game, I’ll be sure to ask for your help. God bless you and God bless the Green Bay Packers."

-Frank Chavez, Sacramento

"I just wanted to say that I had such a great time. The whole weekend was so much fun. I enjoyed the Player Autograph Party and the tailgate party was just the best. After coming from a country that loves soccer, it was nice to mix with people who have the same interests as me. Thank you once again, Green Bay is one very special place."

-Beverley Moore, Lancaster

"My accommodations at the Best Western Midway were excellent. I was picked up at the airport and returned promptly. No problems at all. Your representative at the hotel on game day was very pleasant and helpful. The tailgate party was super, great food, great drinks and lots of fun. Obviously, Lambeau Field and the game itself was great. I will continue to use Event USA in the future, and I will definitely tell anyone who I come across to give you a call. One last thing, the hospitality I experienced in Green Bay was incredible. I have traveled to many places, and I don’t think there are more friendly people than the people of Green Bay. Thank you again and see you next year!"

-David Anastas, Worchester

"My wife and I booked the tour to Tampa. The trip was so well organized from start to finish. It started with the people in the office with their friendly help over the phone, to receiving the tickets in the mail, and meeting the tour guides with their upbeat personalities. Signs guided us in the airport and information was posted in our motel lobbies to keep us posted. Your people had everything in order. Talk about organization, you had it. Event USA made this a most memorable trip. Thanks for all involved."

-Dick Koerner, Neenah

"I wish to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude for providing my husband and I with, what he refers to as the greatest experience of my life, apart from my wedding day."

-Lara and Matt Appleton, Thornhill, Ontario

"Thanks for all your help, the great tickets and service, and the chance to help me make one of my son’s dreams come true, seeing the Packers playing at home in Lambeau Field."

-Sam Jones, Sedalia

"I just want to thank you for the wonderful job your staff did last weekend for the Packers vs. Lions game. This was our first time utilizing your program and we were not disappointed at all. In fact, we can’t wait to schedule and event for next season’s games. From my first experience with your staff placing my order until the very end at checkout of the hotel, everything was perfect. You truly out-do yourselves to please everyone. Thanks again for making our stay in Green Bay one of the best."

-Kim Ewing and Bruce DeMaine, Ann Arbor

"Thanks so much for the best weekend ever! You not only got us in all the Magazines, TV, WWW pages and even the big screen at Lambeau Field, but Disney World on the side? Nice job – You and your family are top notch – we were on the best tour for the Super Bowl! Seeing the Green Bay Packers win back the Lombardi Trophy was a life long dream of this Packer fan, and you all were so dedicated to the job of taking care of us that, like the Packers, we were a winning team! Keep me on your list."

-William D Lorge, Representative to the Wisconsin State Assembly