The Pittsburgh Steelers will make history in late September when they play in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Ireland. In Week 4, the Steelers will face the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin. Unfortunately, the Steelers will have to sacrifice one of their home games to play there. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell seems happy about that too.
“From a football side of it, both opponents that we’ll play, including the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Stadium, they both have very high-quality home atmospheres in their home stadiums here in the United States,” O’Connell said to UK media members on Tuesday via the Vikings’ YouTube channel. “To get to play them not at their home stadium, tough division, the AFC North tends to be year in, year out, just like the NFC North, we found that to be a potential bonus for our football team.”
Pittsburgh is one of the most intense environments to play in for some teams. Steelers fans are incredibly passionate, and that’s on display during games. When Renegade comes on in the fourth quarter, opposing teams often find themselves in trouble.
Therefore, playing the Steelers in Ireland might benefit the Vikings. However, the Steelers have deep ties to Ireland, so O’Connell might find himself in an environment similar to Pittsburgh. If Steelers fans show up in droves, the Vikings could lose that bonus.
However, like O’Connell says, the Ireland game won’t be the Vikings’ only international game this year. In Week 5, they’ll face the Browns in London. They’re actually the first NFL team to play in back-to-back games in different countries.
That might present a different issue for the Vikings, especially considering their starting quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, has yet to play in the NFL. Last year, McCarthy lost his entire rookie season due to an injury. Despite that, O’Connell sounds confident that facing the Steelers and Browns in their home stadiums would be just as difficult.
“In regards to the challenges for a rookie quarterback,” he said, “I know playing in Pittsburgh, playing Cleveland, depending on when you go to those places, I would classify those as challenges right alongside the international opportunities that we’re gonna have both in Ireland and in the UK.
“I would be hard-pressed to say that the atmospheres aren’t going to be electric and outstanding because they always are when we play overseas, but I do know those can be some hostile environments, going on the road in the AFC North for a young quarterback, depending on where those games were to fall.”
Playing overseas can throw some players off their game. Traveling all that way can be disorienting for anyone. However, for NFL players, who are used to such a rigid and routine schedule, it can be a little jarring. The time change doesn’t help things, either.
However, O’Connell is correct that playing in places like Cleveland and Pittsburgh is also no joke. That can be especially true depending on the weather. Games in Pittsburgh and Cleveland can be messy. The Vikings play in a domed stadium, so facing the elements can be a different challenge for them, too.
We’ll see how many Steelers fans pack Croke Park in Ireland when Week 4 comes around. O’Connell might see it as a bonus, but Steelers fans can change that. They’ve taken over opposing stadiums before. While Ireland is a different beast, maybe Pittsburgh’s fans will travel well again. Hopefully, they’re just as loud overseas as they are in Pittsburgh.
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