Can sports diplomacy survive a geopolitical boiling point? The NFL found out the hard way at Rio’s iconic Maracanã Stadium. Even a thrilling 34-31 Ravens victory over the Cowboys couldn’t mask the storm brewing off the scoreboard. As if field-quality fears and diplomatic friction weren’t enough, the league’s Week 3 showcase took an uncomfortable turn before kickoff. What was envisioned as a triumphant celebration of American football met hostile pushback instead.
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According to podcast host Matt Walsh, when bilingual artist Kandace Lindsey took the field to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the crowd at Maracanã turned on the moment, loudly booing the U.S. national anthem in front of a packed stadium and a global broadcast audience.
“The NFL, for some reason, decided to play a game in the third-world s–t hole of Brazil, and the crowd thanked them by booing the national anthem,” Matt Walsh wrote on X @MattWalshBlog. “What an absolutely embarrassing, shameful display.”
Walsh’s viral reaction captured a growing outrage back home, but the stage for that moment was set weeks earlier. On August 20, the NFL announced that its inaugural Rio Game would feature pregame anthem performances by Brazilian samba legend Péricles and Kandace Lindsey. Yet as Lindsey stepped onto the Maracanã turf to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” she walked into an unexpectedly hostile atmosphere, one that caught both the performer and broadcast audiences off guard.
This reaction, however, was far from unprecedented. During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Brazilian crowds similarly greeted American athletes with chorus after chorus of boos following controversial remarks about the host nation. With old grievances resurfacing on a global stage, the repeating pattern at Maracanã has reignited fierce frustration among U.S. fans, turning a routine pregame ceremony into a flashpoint for international friction.
“Booing our national anthem?? No more games in Brazil @nfl🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸,” a fan posted on X.
To be fair, this wasn’t the NFL’s first venture into Brazil. The league had already hosted two successful regular-season games at São Paulo’s Corinthians Arena: the Packers vs. Eagles in 2024 and the Chiefs vs. Chargers in Week 1 of last year. While those games avoided direct hostility toward the anthem itself, the pregame ceremony for Chiefs vs. Chargers still ignited a firestorm online.
Ahead of that matchup, jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington delivered an unconventional, instrumental performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Rather than winning over viewers, the unique rendition left fans deeply unimpressed, triggering immediate backlash across social media.
One fan wrote on X: ‘The worst national anthem performance of all time. Nice going, NFL’.
Another user posted: ‘This national anthem is an abject disgrace.’
Yet, tapping Washington was part of a deliberate strategy by the NFL to reflect a more global, culturally diverse audience on an international stage. This expansion across the Americas remains a crucial pillar of the league, widening its horizons. Under the NFL’s Global Markets Program, teams like the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles hold international marketing rights in Brazil to build brand awareness and grow overseas fandom.
“Building on the success of the games in Sao Paulo, we could not be more excited to play in one of the world’s most iconic cities — Rio de Janeiro,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement last year. “We look forward to working closely with our city and state partners in Rio along with the historic Maracana Stadium to deepen our ties to the tens of millions of fans in Brazil and across South America.”
Sadly, pregame anthem friction isn’t isolated to South America. During 2024’s Patriots vs. Jaguars matchup at London’s Wembley Stadium, the performance carried a uniquely tense historical irony. Fans quickly took to social media to highlight that “the Patriots” were performing in London, with comments pointing out, “Our national anthem is literally about the war against England.” The irony sparked widespread outrage, with some frustrated fans going as far as to argue that playing the national anthem before international games is “still the dumbest thing ever.”
Moreover, ahead of the third international NFL game, there were concerns about the field quality of Maracanã Stadium. NFL Players Association executive director JC Tretter wrote an X post regarding the concerns about the field quality, stating that it is expected to be “loose” and “patchy,” resulting in excessive slipping.
Even with the clearance given by NFL field director Nick Pappas on Friday, stating, “We have an independent inspector that comes in, walks with myself, walks with a member of the NFLPA,” Pappas said on Saturday. “They were here yesterday. Performed that test. Things check out. We’ve made additional improvements to the field that we think were helpful.”
As of now, neither the NFL, the Cowboys, nor the Ravens have issued an official statement responding to the incident, and the Week 3 game continues as scheduled.