"This offseason was different just because of the fact that I'd played some games, and going home and seeing so many (No.) 39 jerseys back in Ireland and in my hometown, especially...it was pretty fun," Smyth said. "But it was different. It was brilliant to see my friends and family who couldn't get over and watch some of the games. I'm just delighted with how they've treated me since I went home."
Besides Mayobridge, other stops included six days in the San Francisco Bay area to attend Super Bowl LX, played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., and a two-week visit in Ireland with his girlfriend. And there were requests to be filled — visits to his primary school and high school, his football club and partaking of some flag football events, so many that not everything could not be accommodated.
Heady stuff for a player whose NFL journey began in 2024.
"When I first started watching American football in Ireland, it was a very niche thing to do," he said. "It was like, nobody else was doing it. I was watching highlights and my classmates were, 'What is that you're watching?' Like, 'What is that?' Now, it's different. People actually realize that, OK, the NFL is the world's biggest league. And the fact that there's somebody from their part of the world playing in it, they see the value in it.
"It's been really fun, the coverage has just been unbelievable. There's a lot of people at home that are putting a lot of work into the marketing side of the game — more coverage and more social media clips and people are sort of recognizing what you're doing as a result of that. Even if that wasn't the case, I would still love to be over here doing what I'm doing. It's been a pipe dream for a long time and the fact now that you actually have some games under your belt is pretty cool to say. (But) definitely not satisfied with just those six games. It's time to push on."
New Orleans — his adopted home — took note and appreciates the push.
"The amount of support I've been getting from the people in general...it's been unbelievable," Smyth said. "It does feel like a second home – even when I got off the plane (back in New Orleans), it was like, 'We're back.' It was like a sigh, 'It's good to be back, doing what I do best.'"