Roger Goodell is the NFL Commissioner for a reason. He knows what’s best for business.
In a press conference last Saturday afternoon, he stated he had ‘no doubt’ that the NFL would return to Ireland again, well before a 1st and 10 had been recorded in Croke Park.
We find it hard to disagree with him on that one. They’d be fools not to run it back.
It’s fair to say that Ireland’s first-ever NFL regular-season game went down as a massive success, with the Pittsburgh Steelers just about holding off the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday.
Goodell was well aware of the yearning for days like Sunday from Irish NFL fans, but it may have come as a surprise to him how Pittsburgh and Minnesota natives bought into the event.
General Manager of NFL UK & Ireland, Henry Hodgson, told RTÉ Sport he believed up to 30,000 travelled to Ireland for the game, which was clearly visible as fans of both sides thronged the capital.
It remains hard to ignore the uncomfortable questions of hosting an NFL game in Ireland, due to the organisations close ties to the U.S. Military, and in particular, a country who have funded billions in military aid to Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
Rightfully so, that deserves to be addressed. However, what Sunday provided for fanatics of sporting action, was a spectacle soused in drama, thrills, and everything that an NFL game should deliver.
A 62-yard touchdown from a fumble (which was controversially disallowed), an 80-yard touchdown from DK Metcalf, which showcased him and Aaron Rodgers at their best, explosive running plays, a blocked field-goal, and akin to the U.S. Ryder Cup team later that evening, a seemingly insurmountable comeback from the Vikings that fell just agonisingly short.
People just like you and I, all 74,512 packed into Croker, to witness a historic occasion unfolding beneath our very eyes. This writer spotted Cork hurling great Patrick Horgan on the way to the match, and subsequently saw him later pictured with fellow Corkonian Roy Keane.
All-Ireland winner and Steelers fan Paudie Clifford was joined alongside fellow Irish sporting greats Katie McCabe, Sharlene Mawdsley, and Hannah Tyrell. Oh, and Bill Murray kept up his ongoing Irish adventures by visiting HQ.
As regular scheduled programming resumes in Croke Park, the murmurings of who’ll be next to travel for a regular season game are rife.
Whispers of household names like the Green Bay Packers or the New York Jets have popped up, while the Kansas City Chiefs have already expressed their interest to play in Ireland in 2026.
Prior to Sunday, 1997 was the last NFL game played in Ireland, a pre-season affair that also featured the Steelers. One can predict we won’t be waiting 28 years for our next serving.