DUBLIN — The NFL blocked the Pittsburgh Steelers from heading over to Ireland early, Gerry Dulac first reported and sources confirmed to PennLive.
The idea for the Steelers was the team would end up traveling earlier in the week unlike last time, when players were fatigued for the game. Yet, that was not cleared by the NFL, who ends up dictating the team’s travel schedules.
Instead, the Steelers, who will be staying almost 45 minutes outside the City of Dublin, only got the okay to leave on Thursday night, which is what the Minnesota Vikings wanted to do.
“FYI, the Steelers wanted to go over early in the week, but the NFL said no and making each [team] arrive at the same time,”Dulac wrote. “I don’t know the exact reason for the change… Maybe it has to do with something about a competitive advantage. But it wasn’t the Steelers decision.”
Multiple sources in Dublin echoed that very sentiment that Dulac provided. It seems the NFL made it clear that while they would promote this game all week, and more importantly, especially through the days both teams are in the city, it was not always necessary to have the players there to do such.
The Steelers have worked around that with the Terrible Towel Tour with Max Starks around Ireland to get their name and brand out in the country even more.