By late evening, Croke Park belonged to the seagulls once more. Squadrons of them darted opportunistically across the emptying stadium scanning for leftover scraps of food, all squawks and caws. But for the preceding few hours the old stadium had rocked to a different tune: American football.
At the end of the first regular season NFL game here, both sides can feel they stood up to their side of the bargain: Ireland delivered the most splendid autumnal Sunday imaginable, bright sunshine and rain-free skies, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings produced a game that delivered a grandstand finish.
Everybody, it seemed, went away happy enough.
In the post-match interviews afterwards, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said the victory meant a lot to him because of the connection the owners, the Rooney family, had with Ireland.
RM Block
“We talked a lot about the late great ambassador Rooney last night,” Tomlin said about Daniel M Rooney, the former US ambassador to Ireland who died in 2017.
“I know he’s smiling at us today. It’s just an honour to fulfil his vision, to bring NFL football to Dublin. I’ve been thinking about him a lot on a personal level.”
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers entered the press conference room sipping from a bottle of still water. Somebody in Guinness headquarters missed a trick there.
“I thought the atmosphere was outstanding,” he said with a smile. “I loved it, I thought the crowd was fantastic. The music was great, the fans were cool, the field was pristine. The whole experience was fantastic. Shout out to the country and everybody who made this happen.”
[ NFL brings riot of colour and noise to Croke Park as Steelers hold off late Vikings scoring raid ]
If this was test case, it’s fair to say it was a success.
However, the event might have had an even bigger impact had the teams arrived earlier than Friday morning. After so many years planning to make the game a reality, in the end it felt like a sprint not a marathon.
“I would always love to get to enjoy the area a little bit more,” Rodgers said.
During Friday’s press conferences, with the squads fresh off the plane, one of the most revisited themes used by the various players and coaches was about how they planned to “acclimate”.
There were lads acclimating left, right and centre. Rodgers acclimated right in front of us during his press conference. The short turnaround to the game was a clear concern.
But the openness and access afforded to the media was eye-catching in comparison to what often passes as normal on these shores.
It was approaching 5.30pm on Friday when it seemed the Vikings’ press conference was wrapping up. We had just spent the previous 40 minutes or so chatting with the coach and three players.
As we started to pack our bags, the door swung open and in walked cornerback Isaiah Rodgers.
Then a couple of minutes after Rodgers had started chatting, quarterback Carson Wentz pushed the door ajar to join the party and we started to wonder if the Vikings were now actually trolling us. Had they no homes to go to?
Five players and a coach provided for the media two days before a game – compare that to two weeks out from an All-Ireland final when you’d be thankful if the participants provided you with a non-playing panellist and the bus driver to interview.
Nothing was normal in Dublin over the weekend. There were lads walking around the city with little yellow towels dangling out of their back pocket, others with long faux gold chains swinging from their necks and some proudly wearing cartoonish oversized caps that made them look like characters from the Beano.
The game itself was just part of the entertainment show in the stadium – all music, lights, fireworks and fan interaction, kiss-cams and a Party Patrol walking around the pitch firing goodies from air guns.
The playlist went from Come On Eileen and Livin’ on a Prayer to Live Forever, Wild Rover, Zombie and Sweet Caroline. Bill Murray even popped up on the big screen at one stage.
One criticism of the NFL’s international games has been that some tend to be played in party-like atmospheres where not many of the supporters had skin in the game.
However, there was a very vocal Steelers majority in Croke Park on Sunday. It felt like a proper contest where the result mattered to those in the stands.
As for the game itself, early in the fourth quarter Chris Boswell kicked a 33-yard field goal to put the Steelers 24-6 ahead. We know this because the press box was kitted out with a series of mini speakers from which a kind voice would regularly interject to tell us what had just happened on the field. On each occasion he did so, we nodded knowingly: “Bosie from 33, lads.”
Our helpful little friend inside the speaker didn’t have to tell us what the 24-6 score meant though: we knew it was curtains for the Vikings. Game over. Not even the Cork hurlers would lose from here.
And then Wentz – who spent much of the afternoon getting sacked or intercepted – suddenly started slinging arrows and it began raining Minnesota touchdowns. It led to an edge-of-your-seat finish with the Steelers holding out to win by three, the game ending 24-21.
Of course, while the day itself probably went as well as all the invested parties could have hoped for, the entire experience wasn’t all roses and high fives.
Pittsburgh quarterback Skylar Thompson was allegedly assaulted in Dublin on Friday night. The Steelers were reluctant to speak about the matter on Sunday evening, with linebacker TJ Watt responding: “I don’t have enough to comment on that.”
There was also a protest outside the ground about the GAA aligning itself with the NFL.
Whatever the future holds, it’s unlikely Rodgers will play here again. At 41, as the NFL starts out on its international expansion, he’s nearing the end of his career.
“I used to say five, six, seven years ago I was on the back nine. I’m teeing off on 18 right now.”
By 8pm, the posts were coming down at Croke Park. The seagulls had gone too and all that remained were a battery of workers taking down the NFL’s tent. It will be a GAA pitch again soon enough.
But the Steelers and Vikings left their mark by delivering a memorable first regular season NFL game at the venue.
Chances are it won’t be the last.
