Why NFL Dublin opens 'new chapter' for Irish sport

NFL: Minnesota Vikings v Pittsburgh Steelers

Venue: Croke Park, Dublin Date: Sunday 28 September Kick-off: 14:00 BST

Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app from 13:00

NFL broadcaster Michael McQuaid was in New Orleans for last season's Super Bowl when the Dublin announcement was made.

By then, the Irish Steelers Podcast host knew the NFL would be making a long-awaited return to Ireland, but nothing had prepared him for that moment in February.

"The manner in which it was announced, at the Super Bowl, when it's already fever pitch that week... to see the reaction back home and in the US, it was really special," he told BBC Sport.

"Honestly, it really hit home in that moment that so many people on the island of Ireland really achieved what so many have wanted for such a long time."

On Sunday Dublin will become the fourth European city to host a regular-season game as the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park.

"This puts Dublin among some of the world's largest and most well-known cities," McQuaid said. "It's a new chapter for what is already a sporting island."

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL, having won six Super Bowls - a joint record with the New England Patriots.

The Steelers were founded in 1933 by Art Rooney and are still owned by the Rooney family, whose ancestors emigrated from Newry in Northern Ireland in the 1840s.

The family have maintained close links to their Irish heritage and pushed for a pre-season game to be held in Dublin in 1997, with a crowd of more than 25,000 watching Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Bears at Croke Park, the home of Gaelic games.

The NFL now estimates the league has 350,000 fans on the island of Ireland and, when the Steelers were awarded marketing rights there in 2023, they said they aimed to bring another game to the Emerald Isle.

"This is really the encapsulation of the 'American Dream'," said McQuaid. "Leaving the island of Ireland in the 1840s, going over to North America and returning almost 200 years later - it's a real journey for this family.

"I've been very lucky to see first hand just how much this means to the family, and they are doing so much in such a little time on this island this week.

"They've done so much over the last two to three years, and to bring it to a head on Sunday at Croke Park - for a family that has been so successful throughout the last two centuries - this is going to be up there with everything that they've done.

"As an NFL fan, regardless of who you support here, that has to be celebrated."

The Steelers have made numerous visits to Ireland over the past two years, holding watch parties and football clinics to help grow the sport and build interest in Sunday's game.

It will be a far bigger event than their pre-season trip in 1997. The NFL says it will feel like "a mini Super Bowl coming to town".

Domestic fans who have been travelling to the London games will flock to the Irish capital instead, and more than 30,000 international visitors are expected, many without tickets and many as fans of other teams.

There will be free fan events across the city from Thursday, incorporating Dublin Castle and Dublin City Hall, plus a three-day tailgate event at Merrion Square, which concludes with a watch party on Sunday for those not heading to Croke Park.

"They show up just to be a part of the noise, the excitement, knowing that the NFL is in town, and all 32 teams are represented with the different jerseys," said NFL pundit Phoebe Schecter. "There is so much to look forward to - and the Steelers know just how to do it big."

Henry Hodgson, general manager of NFL UK and Ireland, added: "If you've ever been to a sports or entertainment event in Dublin, you'll know that the city really embraces it.

"It's hard to get away from the feeling that's it's totally being taken over by the event. We're very excited to think about all those NFL jerseys in Temple Bar and beyond over the next few days."

The Steelers and Vikings are staging pub takeovers in Dublin, but so too are the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers. The Chiefs have publicly expressed an interest in playing in Ireland,, external while the NFL says other teams have approached them.

There is no guarantee of a return to Dublin - the NFL will assess Sunday's game after the event - but if it has the impact many anticipate then annual NFL games could become part of the city's sporting landscape, as they have in London.

The Steelers have also opened their own shop in Dublin, which will remain open all season. It sells all the team merchandise you would expect, plus the small 'rally' towels which Pittsburgh fans are famous for.

Known as 'Terrible Towels', they were introduced en route to the team's 1976 Super Bowl win, and this week former player Max Starks has been touring Ireland, giving them out to locals. He even bumped into a pair of Steelers fans from Mexico.

Traditionally, the towels are yellow but the Steelers have produced a special edition featuring the Irish tricolour, which McQuaid said is "a historical item".

"They're iconic in Pittsburgh," he added. "During the game, especially at the start of the fourth quarter, the fans will wave them, and when you've got 76,000 people in a stadium like Croke Park, it's going to be a sight to behold."