As you may recall, the Eagles and Packers will be facing each other on Sept. 6 in São Paulo, Brazil — the NFL first-ever game in South America. The Eagles are the designated home team, so they would presumably opt to wear their green jerseys.
Just one problem: The game will be taking place in Corinthians Arena, home of the Brazilian soccer team Corinthians. And according to several reports, green apparel is banned in that stadium. Per this article:
Because of their fierce rivalry with fellow Brazilian soccer club Palmeiras, Corinthians have an informal ban on the color green, which is worn by their arch-nemesis.
Players and fans are forbidden from wearing green, with former Corinthians striker Jo even fined by the club in 2021 for donning green soccer cleats.
Fans have spotted signs up at the arena which state that the color is “expressly forbidden.”
That article makes the point that the Eagles could therefore be blocked from wearing their green jerseys. But of course the situation would be no better if the Eagles opt to wear white, because then the Packers would have to wear green. What a mess — there are only three NFL teams that wear green (the third, of course, is the Jets), and the NFL managed to put two of them in a green-phobic stadium!
One solution would be to have Philly wear their black alternate jersey (although they’d still have the midnight green helmets), with Green Bay in white. Another would be to just go ahead and wear green despite the stadium protocol, although that doesn’t seem like a good way to endear yourself to local fans when you’re trying to spread global goodwill and build the NFL’s international audience.
(My thanks to Phil for bringing this situation to my attention.)
Easy solution: Eagles wear their black unis and Packers wear their road unis
Should’ve read first before saying this, since it’s already mentioned
Black jerseys in Brazilian heat to placate the whims of a single soccer team? No thanks.
Even with a Black vs White; there is still going to be plenty of green. If a dude was fined for just his shoes… I think Paul should explain the superiority of green to the stadium prior to the coin toss.
Even if neither team wears its primary green uni, there is still going to be green involved, yes? And what about the name, “Green Bay”?
Are people there actually moronic enough to think a completely foreign team wearing green is only trying to provoke them? If so, what’s to be gained by playing there?
Actually, I don’t think anyone suggested that wearing green would be “trying to provoke them.” I certainly didn’t write that.
Why is it banned, then?
I already explained why it’s banned in the text.
Ignoring a local protocol is not the same thing as deliberately trying to provoke. It’s like the difference between an error of omission vs. an error of commission.
Packers helmet logo and stripes have green. Their numbers/sleeve stripes on the jersey have green as do the pants stripes. Eagles pants have green even if they wear their black jerseys. Oh, and that would mean no Kelly Green throwbacks since they would have to wear black helmets. And the fans would not be allowed to support either team if they wore team branded attire. I could go on and on. I figure the NFL probably has had negotiations before the game was announced. But, I could be wrong. Better yet, the Packers could borrow some Bears uniforms and the Eagles could borrow some Cowboys threads LOL.
This made me puke, Packers in Bears unis and Eagles in Cowgirl unis
Green is a great colour.
Paul should send a letter to Corinthians.
I lol’d
This is the best comment I’ve read in a LONG time.
+1
Well played Mr. Styczen
Good gravy, this is a fantastic comment.
The word of the (Uni Watch) Lord.
This comment… wonderful
Perhaps the best uni watch comment ever.
You should get this comment preserved on a membership card
day over. internet has been won.
Comment of the Day, for sure. It’s still only April, but this may be Comment of the Year.
Kudos.
If green is banned what color is the grass then?
that is the best comment yet! I was going to say the same thing. maybe they’ve dyed the grass blue?
Actually, there are reports that the team tried to paint the grass black when the stadium was opened, but it wasn’t authorized by Fifa.
link
And that’s where FIFA clearly missed out on a chance to bring attention and identity to their league and Sport…
Like the Ivy in Wrigley and the no names on back for the Yankees… parquet floor in Boston and blue field at Boise State…
Guarantee they allow the teams to wear whatever they want. Guarantee they will let the fans wear their team jerseys in the crowd to support.
What if the Packers wore their Acme Packers throwbacks, and the Eagles wore their 1934 throwbacks? That would eliminate green, but neither team ever did a white version of that uniform (did one even exist historically?). The jersey for the Eagles’ 1934 throwback was predominantly yellow, so that could work as a contrast to the dark blue of the Acme Packers. And for the record, this is mostly a tongue-in-cheek suggestion (but also an outside-the-box idea for how to avoid green, using uniforms the teams have in their recent repertoire). I don’t see the NFL dressing teams in anything but their primary uniforms (or at least their current colors) for a foreign game.
The NFL is king. They can do whatever they want (for better or worse). That stadium will love the sold out tickets sales from the NFL being there.
Amazing.
It’s not as though this is a legal ban. It’s like the Giants “banning” fans Dodger blue at Oracle Park.
Not sure of Brazilian law, but the Giants could ban Dodger blue in the stadium. It’s a private entity and can have rules that aren’t necessarily laws. Most supporters sections in MLS ban any non home team apparel.
This is amusing but it seems a bit absurd to seriously think the anti-green thing applies in every possible context rather than just Corinthians matches. For example the Brazilian national team has played at the arena numerous times including in the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics, and 2019 Copa America. I highly doubt the mostly-green Brazilian flag was banned for those events, or the green trim on Brazil’s yellow shirts.
If Corinthians are so green-phobic as to fine a player for wearing green accessories (shoes in this instance), is the “green problem” actually solved simply by having the Eagles go with their black alternates and the Packers wear their white road jerseys? Both teams will still have plenty of green trim, which sounds like it doesn’t meet with the rather complete and total ban on green contemplated by the club’s “no green” edict.
I think their use of “Banned” may not have the same context that we’re accustomed to using it in.
To me this would be akin to one of Paul’s friends bringing over their cat, and it has a purple collar on. Paul won’t like the collar, but he certainly won’t forbid the cat from entering his home because of it. Especially if he’s known that the cat has worn a purple collar for years and still invited them over anyway.
Just my two cents.
Time to put Philly in their light blue and yellow throwbacks and packers in Acme Packers navy/tan throwbacks. Problem solved! They can even go color on color, there’s enough contrast there. LOL.
I’d love to see the a Birds back in that…no, really!
Why not make the “home” team wear non-green, and the “away” team wear green, just like Palmeiras do when they play at Corinthians?
Easy solution: NFL dirtbags stay out of foreign countries and stop trying to create talent pools where people are so impoverished that no consideration for long term health are bothered with.
Guess it’s 1930s throwbacks time! The Eagles’ yellow-and-baby-blue monstrosities vs the Packers’ yellow-and-dark-blue-and-faux-leather-helmet look. Since the League is allowing 3 helmets now, that shouldn’t be a problem. It would be UGLY, but it wouldn’t be a problem.
Would there be anything stopping the Packers wearing their Acme Packers blue throwbacks with the faux leather helmet look and the Eagles wearing their Philly flag powder and yellow throwbacks with the winged helmets? Not a hint of green in either uniform
Neither of those uniforms is currently active.
Due to the new 3 shell rule alteration, it seems plausible that the Eagles will bring the black lids back.
Yes, in 2025. But this game in Brazil will take place in 2024.
Have one team wear the white jersey and black pants of Corinthians with a black and white helmet and the other one wears the Palmeiras green from top to bottom. Lively atmosphere during the game is guaranteed, it might even attract the local futebol fans to the stadium but call the riot police in advance!
Salve Corinthians!
Both teams can wear their blue and yellow throwbacks. Aside from marketing and being an eyesore, problem solved.
Why didn’t anyone one else think of this omg?!
This “rule” is valid for Corinthians games only, no issue with wearing green for any other events taking place there as you can see here: link
link
Thank you! This really should be a non-story.
Then again, the source article is from the Daily Mail, so… yeah.
Sounds like a prime opportunity for a São Paulo special edition Nike uniforms for both teams.
Definitely an unforced error on the part of the NFL. Didn’t do their due diligence on local customs.
Brazilian here: I root for Palmeiras and it is an informal rule that people associated with Corinthians should avoid the color green when possible (just like you won’t see a lot of non-obligatory Celtic green at the Rangers stadium in Glasgow).
However, I believe that is an overblown concern. Many people that root for many other soccer or NFL teams will watch the game (as I intend to). Also, nothing prevents away teams, like Palmeiras, playing in green, and the Packers are the designated away team for this game.
I saw this documentary once about enforcing dress rules at sporting events…
link
Midnight Green is actually a dark cyan so they could possibly get away with it.
I, for one, cannot wait to see the Purple Bay Packers and Midnight Purple Eagles Southern Hemisphere alternate uniforms unveiled.
The stupid situations that leagues find themselves in are too funny for words.
What about fan apparel? I imagine 60-70 percent of merch between those 2 teams is green.