‘People forget the Steelers were here before’: Reporter back in Dublin 28 years on for NFL game

WHEN NEWS AND sports reporter Andrew Stockey posted two photos to X yesterday, one of him in Dublin 28 years ago and one taken this week, he didn’t expect much of a reaction.

However, it’s gone on to attract a “whole lot of attention” as Stockey says – some 13,000 likes and counting.

The first photo, from 1997, is a picture of Stockey when he was covering the Pittsburgh Steelers for a pre-season game against the Chicago Bears in Croke Park.

Tomorrow, more than 28 years on, the Steelers take on the Minnesota Vikings in a regular season game.

“I just had the picture, and thought, ‘let me show you I was here before’. I didn’t really expect people to connect to it so much.”

Stockey said that the post might have struck a chord because so many people had forgotten that the Steelers had played in Croke Park before.

CR's Video Vaults / YouTube

“It was so different back then,” said Stockey, “so maybe that resonated with everybody.

“That, or the fact that I actually looked halfway decent 28 years later, one of the two.”

When Stockey came here 28 years ago, he was 27 and remarked that he was “still learning my job”.

“I had just been in Pittsburgh a couple of years so to come to Dublin, having never been to Ireland before or even overseas, the whole thing was a real experience for me.

“I’m just so happy I can come back and experience it again and see how different Dublin is and how much it’s grown.”

‘Quizzical looks’

Back in 1997, the public were able to watch the Steelers during team practice ahead of the game and Stockey remembers that the people who came to watch “had these quizzical looks on their faces”.

“We had kids in the local neighbourhood who came up on their bikes and watched and people were just trying to figure out what it was.”

As for the pre-season game itself on 27 July, 1997, Stockey said that while people didn’t seem too fussed on touchdowns, “everybody went crazy for when they kicked extra points or field goals”.

“The kicking aspect really appealed to people. They were still learning about football, and I think that was the fun part about it, and at the same time, we were learning about sports here in Dublin.”

Stockey said that the head coach of the time, Bill Cowher, took an interest in hurling and some players tried their hand at striking a sliotar.

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Croke Park has also changed quite a bit since 1997 and Stockey said the adaptations made to the field make it “perfect” for American Football.

He also praised the “attention to detail”.

While it is an international game, the Steelers are the designated “home” team and Stockey said it will “feel like a home game for Pittsburgh” and that “a lot of the traditions of football in Pittsburgh will be used”.

Irish connections

Art Rooney, often called “The Chief”, was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

His great-grandparents were from Newry in Co Down and emigrated to Canada during the Famine.

Art’s son, Dan Rooney, took up his father’s mantle and also served as US Ambassador to Ireland.

Stockey said Steelers fans have “really embraced” this Irish heritage of the team.

“We have a great Irish population in Pittsburgh, but this is one of those things where, as they say during St Patrick’s Day in our country, everybody is Irish.”

He said Dublin has “felt like home” for Steelers’ fans and that Pittsburgh has really embraced the international game in Dublin.

Pittsburgh Steelers / YouTube

“I cannot tell you how many people, from seeing the pictures and everything else, are saying, ‘boy, I wish I had gone’.

“I hope this is the beginning of something and that the Steelers will have a chance to come back here, because this is really a unique and special thing that’s going on here.”

Home advantage

Meanwhile, Stockey said Dublin is a “very friendly city” where he feels “very much at home”.

He’s also enjoying getting more time to “see Dublin proper” because back in 1997, he spent most of the time travelling with the team.

However, he said he wishes he had even more time to “really explore and meet the people who call Dublin home”.

Stockey added that while he’s excited about the game, the build-up “in many ways is almost greater than the game itself”.

And as for the game itself, Stockey said the “home field” advantage for the Steelers will play a huge role.

International regular season games are becoming a common occurrence in the NFL, but Stockey said he can’t remember one where the fan base is so overwhelmingly in favour of one team over the other.

“It will be a very tight football game that could be decided by less than a touchdown, but the fans can make such a big difference in this game, so I’m pulling for Pittsburgh.”

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