General
Watch Parties, Clinics and Guinness: How the N.F.L. Builds a Fan Base in Ireland
The league is trying to ensure that sponsors, media partners and enthusiasm are in place before committing to playing a game in the country.
Shane De Lappe and Stephen Murphy arrived at Dublin’s Croke Park last month about an hour before the stadium gates opened. They weren’t going to see Gaelic football or hurling. Instead, the 30-something dads were there for a sold-out watch party hosted by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Soon they would be inside, eating wings, dogs and tater tots and washing it all down with pints of Guinness as they watched a telecast of the Steelers playing the Colts in Indianapolis.
The N.F.L. has played only one game in Ireland — a preseason contest in 1997. So, for now, the next-best N.F.L. experience De Lappe and Murphy can get is attending a gathering with more than 800 other avid fans twirling Terrible Towels. Their dream is a trip to the United States to see the Steelers play in the Super Bowl.
“I would sell a kidney for it,” De Lappe said. “The two of us are Steelers fans, so hopefully we’ll get over there in the next few years.”
