If you’re heading to Pittsburgh for an NFL game, you’re going straight into Terrible Towel territory - a sea of black and gold waving across the stands. Since the 1970s, when legendary broadcaster Myron Cope introduced the towel ahead of the team’s second Super Bowl run, this blue-collar fan tradition has united Steelers Nation like few others. And for rare NFL International Games - from Wembley (2013) to Dublin (2025) - packing your Terrible Towel is practically a rule.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are admired around the league for two things: a rich fan culture and a trophy cabinet with six Lombardis. But personally, I’d add something — or rather someone — to that list: Mike Tomlin. The head coach who somehow kept volatile superstars like Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell in check. The coach who, in 18 seasons, has never had a losing record in the Steel City. That’s not just consistency — that’s legend status.
18 straight non-losing seasons: A streak on the brink?
Ask any die-hard Steelers fan these days where Tomlin is taking the team in 2025 — the same year they travel to Dublin for the long-awaited international clash — and you'll get a shrug or a smirk. Another postseason run? It would be Tomlin’s 13th trip to the playoffs, a feat made even more impressive in an AFC North stacked with star QBs like Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow.
But could Pittsburgh’s bold offseason moves unravel that streak? Let’s go full-Hollywood here: are we witnessing a glitch in the Steelers Matrix?
Cast in the leading roles of this new NFL script: DK Metcalf, acquired via trade from the Seahawks, and yes — Aaron Rodgers. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture Rodgers as the Steelers’ version of Agent Smith.
Aaron Rodgers vs. Mike Tomlin: Who has more at stake?
Once a Super Bowl champ with the Packers, Rodgers is still a four-time MVP (2011, 2014, 2020, 2021) and, on his day, a deep-ball magician. But he’s also a self-proclaimed “drama queen” whose career decisions tend to emerge from the shadows — or in one case, a darkness retreat in southern Oregon.
That infamous isolation retreat eventually led to his departure from Green Bay and brief stint with the Jets — a chapter that brought more headlines than highlights, and left almost everyone from Coach Robert Saleh (now DC in San Francisco) to WR Mike Williams worse off. The only real winner? The New York media circus.
Now, for his potential Last Dance, Rodgers has picked Pittsburgh. After the Steelers essentially rolled out the red carpet during the NFL Draft, many believe Tomlin is betting big — maybe too big. Because make no mistake: Tomlin has more to lose here than the future Hall of Famer.
NFL Dublin Travel Package: Old rivals, new hype and towels in the wind
Forget the darkness — early July brought us a very different image: Rodgers in a grey hoodie, rocking a Steelers cap, sitting at a desk. Green Bay fans felt nothing but relief. If he’d joined the Vikings? That would've reopened some deep Brett Favre wounds. Meanwhile, for international fans planning an NFL trip, Dublin is now the destination of choice. With the Temple Bar district, the Rooney family’s Irish roots, and a Rodgers-led Steelers squad playing at Croke Park, excitement for NFL Dublin tickets — and the resale market — is through the roof, easily outpacing the buzz seen for Berlin or London games.
And in Week 4, the NFL schedule brings a familiar face to Ireland: the Minnesota Vikings. Rodgers won 17 of 30 regular-season matchups against them as a Packer — but fell short in 2023 with the Jets in London, throwing 3 picks in a 17–23 loss at Tottenham. On the field, Steelers fans hope Tomlin can squeeze the last bit of “gunslinger” magic out of Rodgers — or at least lean on a battle-tested defense led by T.J. Watt and shutdown corner Jalen Ramsey in tight games.
If and where else will the inner workings of a rumbling locker room be revealed? My travel tip: Travel to the NFL Dublin Game with waving towels and - instead of watching a drama movie - turn on the “Pat McAfee Show”!
Über den Autor: Touchdown-Feuerwerk in "Mainhatten", Step Back Three im TD Garden oder Krimi on Ice im Rogers Place - hier ist Dominik Sander in der Regel hautnah dabei. Als US Sport-Nerd verfolgt er nicht nur die NFL, NBA und NHL schon über zehn Jahren, sondern kennt auch die sehenswertesten Stadien der Teams. Seine Travel-Erfahrungen und Insider-Tipps gibt Dominik als freier Mitarbeiter von "die-fussballreise.de" weiter.