The Pittsburgh Steelers will be kicking off the first ever NFL game in Dublin, Ireland on September 28th against the Minnesota Vikings. It’s the first time the Steelers are playing an international game since 2013, when they lost to none other than the Vikings. For the Vikings, it’ll be their first stop in a two-week international tour which will wrap up against the Cleveland Browns in London on October 5th.
According to the NFL’s VP of Broadcast Planning—Mike North—the Vikings’ two-game overseas trip to multiple cities could be a sign of things to come.
In a conversation with former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker, North described the process of scheduling the Vikings international games and the precedent that it might set for the future.
“I basically reached out to all the teams and said, ‘Vikings you see the schedule, you know Pittsburgh’s hosting a game in Dublin…There’s a chance you could be chosen to go to Dublin,” said North. “Subsequent phone call: ‘Hey Vikings, you know you’re playing the Browns this year. They’re hosting a game in London. You’re a possible opponent to play the Browns in London this year. It was actually Commissioner Goodell who said, ‘You think they’d want to do both?’
North went on to say, “The Jaguars have done this a couple years in a row now, played back-to-back London games. But this will be the first time somebody’s playing twice as the road team and in two different countries. It might be with an eye towards things we do in the future.”
The NFL has rapidly expanded their efforts to grow the game internationally via their Global Markets Program. Every team is assigned multiple international markets that they are able to increase marketing efforts in.
From increased marketing and partnerships, to more and more games overseas, to playing in new cities and countries each year; Goodell is pouring everything into growing the league globally. We may not be that far away from an international team after all.
What could this mean for the Steelers? It means there’s a realistic chance that Pittsburgh will be playing back-to-back games abroad in the next five years or so. If the Dublin home game is a hit, as it almost definitely will be considering how Steelers fans travel and the multi-year marketing that’s connected Irish fans to the Steelers, then it’s very likely the Steelers will play some future home games in Dublin. It could be a back-to-back with a home game in Dublin and a road game somewhere else like Germany (where they were given rights recently).
Clearly, the NFL is willing to experiment in lots of different ways with their international plans. And one thing is for sure, the black-and-gold faithful will pack out any stadium, anywhere in the country.
