Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Ricky Martin and Pedro Sampaio Headline NFL's First Rio Game at Maracanã

The NFL staged its first game in Rio de Janeiro at Maracanã Stadium, with the Dallas Cowboys as designated home team against the Baltimore Ravens. All 36 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders performed at a regular-season NFL International game for the first time, delivering their "Thunderstruck" routine before a crowd that cheerleader Kylie Dickson called the loudest response they had heard. Charly Barby, whose comeback was featured in Netflix's America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, said she was in tears by the jump split. Pedro Sampaio and Ricky Martin headlined the halftime show, which Sampaio noted was the first NFL halftime performance led by two openly LGBTQ+ men; Parris Goebel choreographed, blending the squad's formations with funk, samba, hip-hop, twerking and Brazilian ballroom voguing. The six-minute megamix included "Sequência Feiticeira," "Livin' La Vida Loca" and the debut of the duet "Pikito Pikito." Jenna Waller provided sign language interpretation for the U.S. national anthem. Christ the Redeemer was lit with a projected green-and-yellow jersey reading "O Rio também joga." The Ravens won 34-31 on a field goal as time expired, and a record 24.9 million U.S. viewers watched.