Irish interest in NFL heats up as league scouts more cities to host games

Several hundred thousand Irish viewers got a tutorial from Charlie Smyth on the difference between lining up a kick in Gaelic football versus a field goal in American football.

Smyth, who had just signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints, humbly told “The Late Late Show’s” national audience that an NFL kicker has to react quickly.

“You don’t have all day to look at the ball,” the 22-year-old Smyth explained. “You just have to go and kick it.”

Almost as quickly, Ireland has become part of the NFL’s international playbook. With Irish interest in the sport rising, Dublin is under review to potentially join the league’s growing list of international cities hosting a regular-season game.

“We’ve seen in the last 12 to 24 months quite a surge of interest there,” Henry Hodgson, general manager of the NFL’s UK office, said of Irish social media activity, merchandise sales, ticket purchases to London games and Super Bowl ratings.

Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers struck up a partnership with the influential Gaelic Athletic Association to coincide with the NFL giving the team marketing rights in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Jacksonville Jaguars also have the same rights, and the New York Jets added Ireland this year.

There’s also a new wave of GAA players getting NFL shots as kickers. Smyth signed a three-year deal with the Saints after coming through the league’s International Player Pathway program in the same class as Louis Rees-Zammit. Jude McAtamney of Rutgers signed with the New York Giants, and Mark Jackson kicked at the Steelers’ rookie minicamp.

To reflect the Irish trend, the NFL changed its UK social media handles to include Ireland. The Steelers, Jaguars and Jets also all went on location in Ireland to announce one of their NFL draft picks last month.

“Having a presence at all is such a massive change from even where it was 10 years ago,” said Stevie Howlin, a software engineer and Jaguars fan who announced the draft pick from Dublin. “Say if you…

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Publish date : 2024-05-16 18:46:33

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