Dallas Goes Global: Cowboys, Ravens and Brazilian Music Meet at Maracanã

Aqua RichJo | September 27, 2026

The Dallas Cowboys face the Baltimore Ravens today in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Rio de Janeiro. Kickoff at Maracanã Stadium is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. Central—5:25 p.m. in Rio. CBS will carry the game nationally.

For Dallas, this is more than an away game. The Cowboys enter at 1–1, and Dak Prescott will meet Lamar Jackson in a matchup between two of the league’s most visible Black quarterbacks. They have faced each other once before: Baltimore won their 2024 meeting, 28–25. The Ravens hold a 6–1 advantage across the teams’ seven previous games.

Football meets Rio’s music scene

Brazil has hosted NFL games in São Paulo, but this is Rio’s first. The setting is Maracanã, a stadium known well beyond football. The league’s presentation will also put music alongside the matchup: Brazilian samba and pagode artist Péricles is scheduled to perform Brazil’s national anthem, and Kandace Lindsey the U.S. anthem. Brazilian DJ Pedro Sampaio and Ricky Martin are scheduled for halftime.

That lineup makes the game a cultural stage as well as a sports broadcast. No Chill News wants to hear how Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian fans see themselves represented—and what DFW’s Brazilian community makes of Dallas arriving in Rio.

Who gets to be part of the global moment?

The NFL’s international reach can bring new audiences to the Cowboys and Ravens. It also raises questions closer to home. What does a game abroad mean for Dallas fans who will experience it from a watch party rather than a stadium seat? When a team enters a new market, do local musicians and other creatives get meaningful opportunities alongside the major names?

Those answers should come from fans and artists themselves. We want to talk with DFW Cowboys fan clubs, Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian North Texans, local sports journalists, Black youth football coaches and musicians with connections to Brazil.

Today, Dallas goes global. We’ll be watching who gets the spotlight on the field, on the stage and in the stands.

Pregame information: the NFL’s international-game schedule, Cowboys schedule and Rio entertainment announcement. No Chill News has not independently interviewed players, performers or fans for this preview.