In a preface to "Dan Rooney: My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL," former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue wrote, "Dan Rooney's life has been dedicated to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football League …"
Tagliabue could've added a third entity: Ireland.
The NFL has announced that the Steelers will host a game in Dublin, Ireland, as part of their 2025 regular season schedule, and amidst all of the excitement and anticipation surrounding that it should be noted it won't be the first time the Pittsburgh Steelers will have played in Croke Park.
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That occasion was described this way by Michael McQuaid in the July 23, 2023, edition of the Irish Star: "It was a day to remember for any NFL fan on the island of Ireland. American football fans witnessed a historic event as the Pittsburgh Steelers faced off against the Chicago Bears at Croke Park in Dublin on July 27, 1997. This exhibition game was part of the NFL's American Bowl Series, which aimed to promote the sport internationally and establish a global fan base. Little did they know that this exhibition match would leave a lasting impact, not only on the players and fans who experienced it firsthand but also on the trajectory of American football's global growth."
"Well, No. 1, I thought it was great attendance for a preseason game," said President Art Rooney II, "and great enthusiasm in the stands. The Irish are great sports fans. They love their sports, whether it's hurling or rugby or Irish football, just a country that's into sports. It was great to see how much the Irish people enjoyed American football. It was a good game, and it was a lot of fun."
It was a lot of fun, certainly the most fun ever for an addition to what at the time was already a 4-game preseason. And there was a lot more planning and preparation involved than normal for a preseason game.
One of the first things to be done was line up 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 Rooney was able to convince the McCaskey family – then the owners of the Chicago Bears – that a preseason game in Ireland was a good idea.
Then came the task of developing plans for the trip.
First, it's important to understand how an NFL team typically travels to a road game, be it preseason or regular season. Arrive by charter to the site of the game the day before kickoff – Friday before a Saturday game; Saturday before a Sunday game; Sunday before a Monday game – and board buses at the airport to go directly to the team's hotel. There the traveling party is housed and fed, and where meetings are held and any final preparations for the game are introduced. Travel to the stadium for the game, and then generally five hours after kickoff, the game has been played, interviews done, equipment gathered and packed, and it's wheels-up for the charter flight to bring the team home.
This game in Dublin, this preseason opener, this opener of a five-game preseason was anything but typical.
Both teams arrived in Dublin a week before the July 27 game, and family members were among the traveling party. In addition there was a large group of Steelers fans that traveled separately to Dublin for what amounted to a week's vacation in Ireland with Dan Rooney as the host.
And what better host than a man who in 1976 co-founded The Ireland Funds, with its "trinity of goals – peace, culture and charity," the same man who would serve as the United States Ambassador to Ireland, from July 2009 until December 2012. Such was Dan Rooney's love for both his sport and Ireland that during the annual July 4 celebration on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy he changed the day's primary activity to a game of flag football from what always had been a game of softball.
In 1997 the week included a football clinic featuring Steelers players squeezed in around their practice schedule, and remember, those practices were a part of the early phase of training camp. For the "vacationers" there were team-provided tours of Waterford Crystal, Northern Ireland, Dublin Castle, and Phoenix Park. There was a "pub crawl" that introduced the Americans to some of the nightlife to be found in the Temple Bar area, a riverside neighborhood with cobblestone streets. Closer to the day of the game, there was a barbeque for both teams in Ballsbridge.
A personal highlight for me came on our first night in Dublin. Dan Rooney had arranged a trip for the media to Johnnie Fox's Pub, described this way on its website: "Johnnie Fox's, situated in Dublin, is one of the oldest pubs in Ireland, and steeped in history since 1798. Renowned for being the highest pub in the country, nestled in the peaceful township of Glencullen and surrounded by the beautiful scenery and serenity of the Dublin Mountains. Johnnie Fox's Pub was originally a small holding farm that became a "safe haven" during the great Irish rebellion of 1798 against British Rule in Ireland. Despite the revolt ending in British victory, the year of 1798 marked a significant watershed in Irish history."
The trip there was scenic, bordering on breathtaking, and a bit frightening because the combination of the mini-bus traveling on very narrow country roads on the climb into the mountains was a world away from driving east on Route 30 toward Saint Vincent College. Arriving at Johnnie Fox's, it was as if we had traveled back in time. There was a large peat-burning fireplace that was heating the pub, and even though it was late July it was chilly up in the mountains. The Irish had used peat for centuries to heat their homes and cook food because it was a cheap alternative to coal and natural gas.
Beside the friendliness shown to us by the regulars, the highlight was the Hooley Show, a regularly scheduled bit of live entertainment that paired traditional Irish musicians performing with Johnnie Fox's Irish Dancers. My recollection was that it was an up-close-and-personal version of what was known in the U.S. at the time as Lord of the Dance. The talent and personality of the performers that night was off the charts.
But back to the game.
"If you recall, in the 1990s the only NFL international games being played in those days were preseason games," said Art Rooney II. "We had played in Barcelona (against the 49ers in 1993), in Tokyo (against the Chargers in 1996), in Mexico City (against the Colts in 2000) to be in front of an international audience. Of course, being in Ireland was something a little more special to us and my Dad and our whole family."
It was no simple matter getting Croke Park to host Steelers vs. Bears because in 1997 there never had been a non-Irish sport played on that field/pitch. But because it was Dan Rooney, it wasn't impossible, either.
"I don't think there had to be a lot of arm-twisting, but it was unusual for Croke Park to host a different kind of event," said Art Rooney II. "But through being involved with the Ireland Funds for so long, my Dad had a lot of great friends at the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) that owns Croke Park. The GAA sponsors the major Irish sports – hurling and Gaelic football – and while there are matches all over the country the major ones in those sports end up at Croke Park."
Also during the run-up to the game, there was a photo op where the Waterford Crystal Trophy was on display, and among those in attendance representing the Steelers were Dan Rooney and his wife, Patricia, and Coach Bill Cowher. The way Dan Rooney remembered it, after seeing and being impressed with the trophy, his wife sidled up to Cowher and said something like, "I really like that trophy. We better win this game."
As for the details of the game itself, I remember Kordell Stewart starting at quarterback and playing pretty well; and Jerome Bettis, who was coming off a 1996 season where he rushed for 1,431 yards, with a 4.5 average and 11 touchdowns, and who had signed a 4-year contract worth $14.4 million that offseason as an unrestricted free agent, not only playing but playing long enough in this extra preseason game to score a touchdown.
Put all of that under the category of "message received," because Mrs. Rooney's trophy sits in a case as part of a display inside the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
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