The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ long-awaited arrival in Dublin, Ireland, was made official in February, during Super Bowl week. However, their opponent remained unknown until the official announcement on Good Morning Football was made on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will meet the Minnesota Vikings in week 4 on September 28th at 9:30 AM EST on NFL Network. This will be their second meeting with the Vikings overseas, the first being at Wembley Stadium in London, England, back in 2013, when the Vikings defeated the Steelers 34-27.
Although the NFL features several international games each season, the Steelers have yet to return overseas. Since that game in 2013, all 31 other NFL franchises have made the trip to play internationally, but the Steelers have yet to be scheduled to compete abroad again. To the league’s credit, this was believed to be done to respect the wishes of the Steelers’ ownership and founding family, the Rooneys, to eventually play in Ireland.
The Rooney family immigrated from Ireland to North America in the 1940s, then eventually settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1884. The Steelers (formerly known as the Pirates) were founded in 1933 by Art Rooney after he paid a $2,500 fee to obtain an NFL franchise. Since 1933, the Rooney family and the Irish-rich western Pennsylvania have never forgotten their homeland roots. Founder Art Rooney’s son, Dan Rooney, who served as General Manager, President, and Owner in his lifelong affiliation with the team, was appointed as the United States Ambassador to Ireland (09-’12), further deepening the Steelers’ ties to Ireland.
The game itself will be played at historic Croke Park. Originally opening in 1884, the stadium has hosted a variety of events in its 141-year history, including Gaelic games of all sorts, concerts, soccer games, Special Olympics, and even a 1997 NFL preseason game between the Chicago Bears and, you guessed it, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s a common sight in the NFL to see an away stadium filled with black and gold twirling terrible towels. Not only are there a great number of Steelers fans in every city, but they also travel better than any other fans in the NFL. Expect a large contingent of Steelers faithful in Croke Park on September 8th, as many are expected to travel overseas to join their Irish brethren in Dublin to cheer on their hometown and homeland Pittsburgh Steelers.
