The NFL is gearing up for the next international game on its annual slate, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints battling it out at Stade de France.
Of course, there has been some criticism of this plan, as France is experiencing some pretty nasty civil unrest at the moment, but the game will go ahead, with the Saints having been in the country for a few days already.
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The Steelers? Well, people are already questioning their travel plans a little bit.
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The Steelers’ travel plan ahead of their game at Paris’ Stade de France against the New Orleans Saints is raising some eyebrows. (AP Photo/Greg Payan)
According to reports, the Steelers plan to take a red-eye to France that will depart on Thursday night.
Now, there are plenty of reasons why they might want to do this. It allows for more game prep at home; plus, with all the uncertainty around the game, there’s a case to be made that it’s less disruptive to players’ sleep habits, and it makes some sense to hang around to make sure it’s all going to happen.
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But…
We did get an example of why it might work better to go abroad earlier rather than later.
General view outside the stadium before the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France on May 28, 2022, in Paris, France. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Rams were goofed on for their decision to fly to Melbourne, Australia very close to game time, with some blaming it for their big loss to a San Francisco 49ers team that had been down under so long, they were starting to develop a taste for Vegemite.
Of course, in hindsight, the Rams aren’t quite the worldbeaters we all thought before the season, but that travel schedule couldn’t have helped matters.
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While a red-eye to France isn’t as brutal as a red-eye to Australia, travel is exhausting, and many people on social media were quick to point that out.
So who is going to end up being right on this one? The early-to-the-party Saints, or the fashionably late (compared to the Saints) Steelers?
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We’ll find out when the game kicks off at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday.