Recent NFL news suggests the Pittsburgh Steelers will be featured in an international game
One of the biggest brands in one of the world's biggest sports, it's only a matter of time before the Pittsburgh Steelers are featured on a global stage again. With ties to Western Europe, the Rooney family has been vocal about their want to play overseas. And following some news from the GM of the […]
One of the biggest brands in one of the world's biggest sports, it's only a matter of time before the Pittsburgh Steelers are featured on a global stage again.
With ties to Western Europe, the Rooney family has been vocal about their want to play overseas.
And following some news from the GM of the NFL UK, that wish may be coming true:
Steelers to play in Ireland?
“There’s a feasibility study, as we would call it, in a number of different European cities and Dublin is one of those,” NFL UK GM Henry Hodgson said to the Irish Star. “Looking at the stadiums, taking local meetings … we’ll take away all of that information, digest it and determine what the next steps are.”
For Pittsburgh, Ireland makes the most sense in terms of an international feature. Not only is the fanbase strong in the land of green and orange, but a deep-rooted history and business strategy only add to the potential.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars own broadcasting rights in Ireland, which makes sense when you analyze the history of the team:
“The Rooney's immigrated from Ireland back in the 1800s,” Steelers owner and team president Art Rooney II said to Sky Sports back in September. “There’s a long history, a long connection. On my mother’s side, my grandparents came over back in the 1920s, so a lot of relatives are still over in Ireland. I go back and visit them from time to time, and of course, my father wound up being the Ambassador to Ireland for a while. A lot of deep connections for us over there…
"…Sometime over the next few years, we’re really looking forward to playing a game over in Dublin.”
Pittsburgh hasn't played in an international game in over a decade, with the last contest coming in a 2013 fixture in London.
But Pittsburgh already has history playing in the motherland of the Rooney's, winning a 30-17 preseason game over the Chicago Bears in the first NFL game played in Ireland during the 1997 preseason.
In terms of readiness, we have seen college football start their "Week 0" slate in Ireland over the past few years and they will be doing that again in 2024. So for Pittsburgh and the NFL in general, the development of playing surfaces and the logistics are already built out, meaning we could see Steelers football in Dublin as soon as next year.
