The Pittsburgh Steelers are canceling events left in right in France even as plans for Sunday’s regular-season game against the New Orleans Saints remains on track.
The Steelers arrived in the country on Friday morning after a Thursday evening flight from Western Pennsylvania.
The plan was for the team to go from the airport to a practice, but that never happened. Practice was instead canceled.
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And, no, it wasn’t because of the civil unrest that has been in the news for a couple of weeks. It was that darn French wind.
“We had two plans coming in,” Steelers coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Friday. “Just really wanted to activate the players after the long flight, just based off the communication with the weather, and just in reality of the timing too.
“We had to make the decision before we landed just to put it together. So, but frankly, driving by it, I wish we would have stopped. But this is part of our plan, so we thought it’d be definitely activating.”
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Winds in the area were reported at a steady 20 mph so one might understand the team’s decision not to trek over to practice. And no civil unrest has been reported in the area regardless of that being a problem in past days. It’s a problem McCarthy says is on his mind.
“Oh, definitely,” he said. “It’s my responsibility to always be aware of anything that surrounds our football team, so definitely in tune. I think the NFL, the local government and everybody involved have done an excellent job communicating.
“We’re very confident in our experience here is going to be very positive.”
The Steelers on Thursday canceled their Fan House event for fans in Paris because of the events of past days.
The team released a statement to OutKick about that cancellation.
“We are honored to play in the first-ever regular season NFL game in France.
“The NFL, as they do for every game, including international games, is working closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters. As stated by the NFL, there have been no disruptions or impacts at League sites.
“As a precautionary measure, the Steelers designated bar that had been planned in Bastille – an area that has experienced recent disruptions – will not proceed.
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“We continue to look forward to the game versus the Saints this Sunday at the Stade de France.”
The Saints have so far experienced no operational setbacks that have been reported. And the Steelers hope they can also get on track and on schedule after Friday.
“We just arrived, so we’re right on schedule so far,” McCarthy said with a laugh.
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