Football is the most popular sport across America, making the NFL the most popular and well-known league. The game and league, though, haven’t spread as much across the globe as other sports. There’s no better way to share the sport to other cultures than sending two-star players to do so.
Two well-known NFL players did just that. Houston Texans star quarterback CJ Stroud and Dallas Cowboys superstar linebacker Micah Parsons hosted a camp for kids between the ages of eight and 18 in Beijing, China, on Wednesday morning.
The camp, led by Stroud and Parsons, was held at Dongfeng International Sports Park in Chaoyang, Beijing. Along with playing football at the camp, attendees went home with some official NFL-branded gear and a photo with the two young stars, along with other items.
The two players have been paired together a few times this offseason. In February, they faced off in the NBA Celebrity All-Star game. During a 2024 NFL Draft broadcast hosted by Bleacher Report, the two debated the rivalry between the Texans and Cowboys. They also debated the NFC East, among other things, during some friendly banter.
“On paper last year, we were arguably the best division in football,” Parsons said. “Everyone was a playoff team.”
Of course, Stroud is going to go to bat for his team and division when hearing such.
“No sir, AFC North was the best division in football,” Stroud countered. “Washington wasn’t nothing. Bro, what are you talking about? No one in the planet except for Micah Parsons thought the NFC East was better than the AFC North.”
Bleacher Report’s Adam Lefkoe instigated, asking who the best NFL team in Texas was. Of course, the two stars answered differently.
“You’re trying to create some beef, I like it,” Stroud said. “You know what it is, I feel like Micah knows who it is, I think knows who it is. But everything has to get figured out on the field.”
Next season, the Texans head to Arlington to take on the Cowboys on the road, giving the two an opportunity to figure out the best team in Texas as Parsons tries to get ahold of Stroud in the backfield. The two pairing up for different events over the course of the offseason only adds a spark to that matchup.