T.J. Watt reveals that Mike Tomlin had an emotional pregame speech dedicated to late Steelers owner Dan Rooney in Ireland
Mike Tomlin knew what this game would have meant to Dan Rooney.
The Pittsburgh Steelers had business to handle in Ireland. They went in fully focused on making sure they left the land of green with a win, headed into the bye week. They achieved that goal, but there was something more that happened in Dublin.
The whole reason the Steelers even went overseas is that the Steelers’ brass is from there. They immigrated to the U.S. and made the Steelers what they are today. And perhaps the most influential Rooney was the man who hired Mike Tomlin. The Chief, Dan Rooney. Well, Tomlin made sure his team knew how important this game would have been to Mr. Rooney.
“We definitely had a chip on our shoulder,” T.J. Watt told Brooke Pryor of ESPN after the game. “Mike T. last night gave a speech on the importance of the Rooney family here in Ireland, and Mr. Rooney, his ambassadorship here, and how important this game means to their family.”
Steelers had Dan Rooney on their side in the win over the Vikings
“I just can’t express enough the reception that we got here,” Tomlin said after the game via the team’s YouTube channel. “The hospitality, the accommodations, the service, it was all top-notch. It’s an honor to represent American football here in Dublin. It was just a great trip. Obviously, a component of it being a great trip is doing the job, and thankfully, we were able to do that. We made it a little more entertaining than maybe it should have been, but the Vikings had a lot to do with that. That group’s got a lot of fight. They’re well coached. It’s just a fun atmosphere, good to get a win. Good to go into the bye in the position that we’re in.”
There is a lot to clean up for the Steelers, but as Tomlin said after the game, “you are what your record says you are,” and right now the Steelers are 3-1 after a month. The defense has come alive, and most importantly, Sunday in Dublin was the first time all year we saw life in the running game.
There are injuries to be concerned about, but the NFL trade deadline is looming, and the Steelers have been more active in recent years. Last year, it was Mike Williams at the deadline; this year, it could be an even bigger name.
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