SÃO PAULO — Anyone know how to say “core values” in Portuguese?
While at least several Eagles seemed apprehensive about the team’s trip to Brazil for the 2024 season opener, that didn’t stop the trip from happening. The Eagles boarded a 9 1/2-hour flight on Wednesday morning and will play host to the Packers on Friday night at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo.
Head coach Nick Sirianni always talks about his five core values but the one he might care about most is connecting.
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And a team trip to Brazil?
“This is a great opportunity for that,” Sirianni said on Thursday at the stadium the day before the game. “I heard some guys had some great conversations on the plane yesterday.
“I got to sit next to Kellen (Moore). We had some good conversations on the plane yesterday. Our sons play on the same pee-wee football team, and they had a scrimmage yesterday, so we were able to get some updates from our wives and talk back and forth about that.”
This big update from Sirianni: He might need to have a word with the coach of his son Jacob’s team.
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“We've got to let Jacob throw the ball a little bit more when he drops back to pass,” Sirianni said.
After the Eagles’ walkthrough on Thursday, several players were brought up to a stage for interviews with most of the questions coming from local Brazilian reporters. And the five Eagles players brought into the interview room — Jalen Hurts, Jake Elliott, Saquon Barkley, Jordan Mailata and Tanner McKee — all seemed very loose.
They all had fun in front of the cameras. Hurts showed his gratitude, Elliott talked about soccer, Barkley showed off his Brazil national team jersey, Mailata cracked jokes and McKee impressed with his Portuguese.
Sure, the Eagles got plenty of bonding time back in Philadelphia. They are together every day. But there are more distractions at home. On this trip, the Eagles mostly just have each other. With a long flight and time together in the hotel, Sirianni is hoping his team grows closer together.
“Yeah, every opportunity you get to hang with the guys, you try to turn into that,” he said. “You try as much as you possibly can to turn that into the lunches together, the dinners together. We have a ping-pong table there. Those guys are going to be playing ping-pong together, PlayStation, whatever they're going to do, play cards together.”
Heck, even if some Eagles still hate the fact that they’re playing in Brazil, they can bond over that too. Misery loves company, right?
Since 2013, the Eagles have been having training camp at the NovaCare Complex because it just makes more sense that way. But with the change, they lost a bit of what made those summers at Lehigh University so special: The team-bonding time.
After an extended trip to New England in the summer and this trip to Brazil, Sirianni’s team is having a ton of time together as they get set to begin the 2024 season.
“It’s a great opportunity for that bonding time,” Sirianni said. “And sometimes you get that on the road in New England, sometimes you get that on the road wherever, sometimes you get that on the road in Brazil.
“So we're looking forward to the time we get to spend together here because again, you've heard me say this a million times, it's not the best groups of individuals that win football games and win championships. It’s the best teams. Part of being a team is that brotherhood, and that's one of the special things about football.”
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