Ireland's time has come. And history beckons for an ascending powerhouse of American football's globe-trotting chapter.

They support in unwavering numbers, they amplify at bar-raising levels, they romanticise their sporting legacy, they immerse themselves in football, they unite to champion their stage like few others, they welcome the world, and they kick; boy, can they kick. Ireland has become a rousing cocktail for the sport's international growth and one of football's most multi-faceted homes from home.

Dublin's iconic 82,000 capacity Croke Park opens its doors to the NFL on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Minnesota Vikings in the first-ever regular season game to be played in Ireland, live on Sky Sports . For so long there had been a dormant giant inevitability to the

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