Pittsburgh Steelers 24
Minnesota Vikings 21
AS THE THRONGS clad in black or purple streamed into Croke Park, a few dozen others stood still outside the stadium bearing Palestinian flags and banners.
The NFL isn’t so much an extension of the current US regime as it is a political windsock, acquiescing to prevailing cultural sentiment in America. Its bottom line is its bottom line.
One of its few constants, though, is an intimate relationship with the American military, to which it contributes financially. In a country ultimately governed by a military industrial complex, routine chest-thumping endorsements of The Troops keeps the everyman onside.
There were a small number of American soldiers on the field at Croke Park for the anthems, where the NFL were guests for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 24-21 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. That the organisation champions American imperialism, and that the US continues to effectively aid and abet Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and that the Vikings’ owner, Mark Wilf, chairs a pro-Israel non-profit, meant it uncomfortable for some that this particular American institution would darken the doors of Croke Park.
Steelers star TJ Watt takes to the field. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Clearly, the players and coaches involved cannot be held accountable for American policy; they are merely normal people who can do extraordinary things with their hands, feet and minds. What happened on the field was just a game of ball, one which added to this country’s sporting tapestry a first ever NFL regular-season game.
And to view it purely through that lens, this was a fabulous occasion from morning ’til evening, as the peoples of Pittsburgh and Minnesota gathered across the pond for a unique experience.
Two daughters living in California, a brother based in New York. A father from Cleveland. A mother from Pittsburgh. The whole nuclear family uniting in Dublin to support Mom’s Team. A Facetime home to a newborn daughter, grandchild and niece. A trip to Connemara to look forward to tomorrow.
Zoom in and this is the whole point of it, really: sport, life, the whole shebang.
Thousands more like that family had a similar experience. Dublin made for a fine host city, for the most part anyway.
So many of the young millennial bankers of New York have proven themselves bowsies at Bethpage Black over the last couple of days but to our knowledge, none of them mugged a European player. That this was the fate that reportedly befell the already-injured Steelers backup quarterback, Skylar Thompson, in Temple Bar last night might be cause for some introspection.
The American away fan, meanwhile, still makes for a great tourist, and not just because 35,000 of them are expected to have pumped €64 million into the local economy this week, a neat return on the Irish government’s €10m investment.
A few of the Steelers beat writers remarked that Jones’ Road before kick-off felt like a regular NFL Sunday. To those of you who haven’t experienced one, an NFL Sunday fairly closely resembles a GAA championship Sunday: a collage of two teams’ colours spilling out of pubs, well wishes and well-intentioned slagging, and kids tugging at their parents’ coattails as they make the last walk to the ground.
Where it differed to a hurling or Gaelic football match was that the neutrals who had managed to procure tickets wore their team colours with pride. There wasn’t a franchise without representation on the streets of Dublin, many expats and Irish fans of different clubs popping along for the day out.
This was a designated Steelers home game: Mike Tomlin’s side were routinely referred to over the Croke Park PA system as your Pittsburgh Steelers, and the terrible towels were out in force from the warm-ups onwards.
The Pittsburgh massive outnumbered the Minnesotans only to the tune of about 60-40, though, with Dublin experiencing its first Viking invasion in just over a millennium.
Those from Minnesota ultimately fared no better in Drumcondra than the Scandinavians did in Clontarf.
DeShon Elliott attempts some Irish dancing after a Steelers interception. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
There was an Irish hue to it all: assisting at the coin toss were Irish sporting greats Hannah Tyrrell, Katie McCabe and Bundee Aki, who met the team captains and head referee to decide upon direction of travel in the first quarter.
Louisiana-born, Mullingar-based country singer Robert Mizzell gave The Star Spangled Banner a good rattle, while Cork artist Lyra added an American-style flourish to Amhrán na bhFiann which took the roof off the place to a far greater extent.
During each anthem, the relevant country’s flag was unfurled from one of the two endzones, with both of them meeting at the NFL logo at halfway as green, white and orange smoke shot out from the two main stands.
The Steelers landed the first shot in anger, replacement running back Kenneth Gainwell punching one in at the end of a long drive in which Aaron Rodgers moved into sixth place all-time in passing yardage.
Pittsburgh led 7-3, Will Reichard having chipped the Vikings into a 3-0 lead at the end of their first drive.
A view of the action at Croke Park. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
The pauses in play for TV ad breaks, meanwhile — not quite the worst thing America has ever done, but surely on the podium — were actually semi-enjoyable in the ground. During the second quarter, as the Steelers ran some calculations with the ball on their own 20-yard line and their backs to the Davin Stand, one fan won eight grand from a bookmaker for making three successful place kicks into Hill 16.
The noise for that marksman was punctured almost immediately by a live tune from folk band Clada, and no sooner than the Galway group had downed their instruments did the Steelers double their points tally.
To quote a great Irish proponent of a different American sport, it came From Downtown: Rodgers fed hulking wideout DJ Metcalf on a screen pass, and the two-time Pro Bowler burned it 80 yards to the house, making a mockery of a Vikings defence that has been among the most miserable in the league this term.
It marked another record for Rodgers, who overtook former New Orleans Saints contemporary Drew Brees as having completed the most career 50-yard-plus passes in NFL history.
The Steelers, 14-3 up, then intercepted Carson Wentz — starting for the second straight week in place of the injured JJ McCarthy — as their surprising early annihilation of the Vikings continued apace.
The 41-year-old Rodgers, who joined the Steelers having been let go by the New York Jets at the end of 2024, appeared to be rolling the years back as far as his Green Bay Packers pomp. Just shy the two-minute warning before halftime, he progressed through his reads and, clean out of options, burst from the collapsing pocket, surviving a fumble to pick up 15 yards and move Pittsburgh back into the redzone.
Aaron Rodgers scrambles. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
A couple of plays later, however, the Vikings rolled the years back to the present day and sacked the once-more sedentary-looking QB for 11.
That left Steelers kicker Chris Boswell with a 30-yard chip-shot field goal — but the Vikings again pulled up the drawbridge, blocking his effort to keep the deficit at 11 points at the half.
The Steelers’ players had made the point all week that they recognised the significance of a game in Ireland. American sports exhibit a deference to club owners that strikes as jarring to us across the Atlantic, but Mike Tomlin’s men were hellbent on making this a day to remember for the Rooney family, who initially emigrated from Newry during the Great Famine before Art Rooney founded the club in 1933.
They played with a greater intensity than we have seen all season. Twice on either side of halftime, they thwarted Vikings drives, the second time with an interception of Wentz.
Running back Kenneth Gainwell then moved the Steelers into a 21-6 lead towards the end of the third quarter.
Minnesota’s highly regarded head coach, Kevin O’Connell, who boasts his own Irish heritage, was at a loss to stem Pittsburgh’s flow.
Chris Boswell dinked over another field goal for 24-6 early in the fourth quarter, taking the Steelers’ lead out to three scores. Few, even from Pittsburgh, could have anticipated such a procession against an opponent fancied for good reason.
Tempers flare between the sides. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
The Vikings, though, rallied for a grandstand finish. Wentz eventually found an unlikely suspect in Zavier Scott for his first ever NFL touchdown. They succeeded with their two-point conversion, reducing their arrears to 10 as the clock ticked down to seven minutes remaining.
A sensational Jordan Addison catch and burst down the right then set up his fellow wide receiver, Jalen Nailor, for a touchdown to bring the gap down to three.
The Steelers, dominant for three-and-a-half quarters, eventually regained their composure and put an end to what would have been a landmark comeback.
It was the designated home team who rose to a special occasion in Dublin, one which left people enraptured, conflicted or indifferent.
On the train up from Cork this morning, a family from Minnesota told this writer they’ve enjoyed their time in Ireland to such an extent that they intend to make it an annual trip.
But there will stand people outside the stadium who will hope for today’s game to be a one-off, at least for as long as the American state is complicit in robbing Palestinian families of the same opportunity.
Written by Gavan Casey and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
