Back in July last year, the iconic Croke Park stadium in Dublin hosted the annual All Ireland Hurling Final, with over 80,000 spectators. When handing out the trophy after the game, standing on the steps of the Hogan Stand, President of the GAA) Jarlath Burns, referring to people with Irish heritage living around the World, said, “For those people, who are our diaspora, who left this country because of war and famine, and for your ancestors, we are thinking of you today as you watch us. You are in Croke Park today, if not in body, then in spirit.” Sitting across the Atlantic, in the US, the Rooney family was surely one of them.

Yes, you got it right, the Rooneys of the Pittsburgh Steelers. James and Mary Rooney, the ancestors of Steelers founder Art Rooney, emigrated from Newry in County Down to North America during the Great Famine in the 1840s. His son, the late Dan Rooney, took over the ownership of the Steelers in 1988. While sailing through the NFL landscape, Dan had a wish in his heart. Speaking with Steelers.com in 2021, Dan’s son and current Steelers President Art Rooney II revealed, “My father wanted to play a game in Dublin for a long time.” Can you guess at which length he went to bring that to reality?

One of the first things to organize a game was to pursue an opponent willing to add a fifth preseason game to its schedule, and that had to be negotiated from team to team because in 1997 the league office didn’t handle the preseason schedule as it does today. Dan, who fittingly served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland from July 2009 to December 2012, could convince the McCaskey family, the then-owners of the Chicago Bears, that a preseason game in Ireland was a good idea. Thus came the historic occasion. July 27, 1997.

American football fans witnessed an iconic event as the Pittsburgh Steelers faced off against the Chicago Bears at Croke Park in Dublin. “I couldn’t be happier that the Steelers will play the first National Football League game ever staged in Ireland,” Dan had said on his arrival in Dublin. Tom McCormack, a Dublin-based fan, who has been a Steelers fan through and through, described the game as a “week-long celebration.” Reflecting on it after more than two decades, the fan said, “I have been a Steelers fan for a generation and I know how much this game meant to the Rooney family.” Nearly 28 years after that occasion, the Rooney family stands on the verge of a full-circle moment, as the Steelers are once again ready to set foot on the Irish land. But this time, it is even more significant.

Because Dublin will host Ireland’s first NFL regular-season game when the Pittsburgh Steelers play at Croke Park in 2025, the league announced Friday, two days before the Chiefs and Eagles meet in the Super Bowl in New Orleans. President Rooney II has all the reasons to be excited. After all, it is like reliving his father’s love for Ireland. “We are very excited to be the designated team in the first regular season game to be played in Ireland this upcoming season. The opportunity for the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in Ireland is truly special, not only because of the Rooney family history there but also to play in front of the growing number of Steelers fans in Ireland,” he declared.

Rooney added, “We are thrilled to be part of this historic event to represent Pittsburgh in a game that brings the NFL to the great sports fans in Ireland.” Not only him, but the younger generation of the Rooney clan is also excited. “Growing up around my grandfather, and my father, one of the lessons they have always taught us is our strong connection to Ireland, and how meaningful Ireland is to the family. This is truly a dream come true for our franchise,” said the son of Rooney II, Daniel Martin Rooney, who serves as the team’s director of business development.

The Steelers also hold marketing rights in both Ireland and Northern Ireland as part of the league’s Global Markets Program, which allows teams to hold events and sign commercial deals in those locations. The franchise has built support on the island through its partnership with the Gaelic Athletic Association. The organization manages and promotes Gaelic games, including Gaelic football and hurling. It has quite an influence on Irish society, given its historical significance to Irish independence. Interestingly, Rooney II revealed that Dan had great connections in GAA, which was instrumental in organizing the Steelers-Bears game at a time when “it was unusual for Croke Park to host a different kind of event.” With such rich ties, GAA President Burns is also elated with the development.

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There’s another Wilson the Steelers should be looking at…his first name is Zach.

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“Croke Park is a proud symbol of Ireland’s rich sporting heritage, and hosting one of the world’s best sporting organizations is a momentous occasion for the entire country. It will be a special and unique event, celebrating the passion uniting two great sporting codes in the heart of Dublin,” Burns said. The full matchup, including opposition, date, and kickoff time, will be announced when the 2025 NFL schedule is revealed this spring. While the Steelers are delving into nostalgia and excitement around the matchup, their quarterback situation is becoming trickier with passing days.

Are the Steelers over with Russell Wilson?

“I’ll keep this short and very much to the point: Russell Wilson’s not wanted by the Steelers. Like, at all,” DK Pittsburgh Sports’ Dejan Kovacevic’s statement hours before Rooney II’s ecstatic response about the Steelers Dublin game hit hard, indeed. According to Kovacevic, the team has moved on, and the reports of a “riff” between him and Arthur Smith weren’t as true as they seemed. The story of Wilson and Smith having problems because Smith stopped allowing him to call plays isn’t true. According to Kovacevic, the narrative was handed out by Wilson’s PR team and agency to try and make his struggles look better than reality.

“What actually occurred with Wilson, according to those same people inside the team, is that, as all of our naked eyes could plainly tell us, he wasn’t following the play calls, he was holding the ball way too long and, within the latter, he no longer could escape defenders in the backfield,” Kovacevic said.

As reported by Sports Illustrated, sources have said that the Steelers do want Justin Fields to return as their starting quarterback in 2025, letting Wilson walk. Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports about Wilson’s condition in Pittsburgh. Some even said that the team has expressed interest in his return, and even Wilson went on the Pat McAfee Show and said negotiations have started. According to a source, neither of those is completely accurate. However, Rooney II said last week that it’s “probably unlikely” the team will keep both Wilson and Fields on the roster in 2025. Amid all this going on around Wilson, a new speculation came up.

Wilson’s former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll took up the head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders. So Wilson was linked to that franchise. Carroll said it was too early to tell if Wilson could be an option at QB for the Silver and Black. On the other hand, Wilson also kind of avoided saying, “Pete’s going to be a great coach, obviously. He’s great at what he does. But I’m focused on the Steelers.” Not only focused, he even went on saying to AP, “I’m looking forward to hopefully going back to the Steelers and we’ll see what happens with the rest. I love it in Pittsburgh.” Is Rooney II listening?