DUBLIN (AP) — Aden Scott will catch up on sleep another time. The opportunity to watch his Steelers play in Ireland is pretty rare.
The college student and his father, Aaron, arrived in Dublin on Saturday ahead of Pittsburgh's game against the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park.
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People walk past a temporary NFL football mural ahead of the NFL football match between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) throws a ball to warm up before the start of the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Ian Walton)
Fans arrive before the start of the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Ian Walton)
Steelers supporters arrive to watch the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
A supporter poses for photographers before the start of the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
They were decked out in black-and-gold-striped overalls as they made their way through the crowd to get inside for Ireland's first regular-season NFL game.
“It’s awesome, the energy is great,” Aden Scott said. “The Steelers fans here seem to outnumber the Vikings fans a whole lot, so that’s awesome.”
The South Dakota natives left from Omaha, Nebraska, through Texas and arrived in the Irish capital after about 20 hours of travel.
Inside Croke Park, the stadium's pregame music selection was a steady diet of Irish artists including U2 and “Dirty Old Town," made popular by the Dubliners, as players stretched two hours ahead of kickoff.
For local fans still learning the game, big-screen videos explained details such as the roles of cornerbacks and that a field goal being worth three points.
Some Irish have objected to the Irish government's allocation of up to 9.95 million euros ($11.7 million) to support Sunday’s game.
The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport has projected that the game will attract 30,000 international visitors and generate 64 million euros ($75 million) “in additional economic activity for Ireland with a direct Exchequer return on the State’s investment of nearly two to one,” the culture and sport department said.
A well-known mural in the city center called “Do Not Remove” — addressing a housing crisis — was painted over as part of a series of NFL-themed murals. Artist Neto Vettorello told the Journal.ie that he wasn't informed ahead of time.
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People walk past a temporary NFL football mural ahead of the NFL football match between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) throws a ball to warm up before the start of the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Ian Walton)
Fans arrive before the start of the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Ian Walton)
Steelers supporters arrive to watch the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
A supporter poses for photographers before the start of the NFL football game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.
SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.
“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.
It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.
Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.
While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.
NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.
The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule being taken into the recovery vessel after crew members re entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Mike Fincke getting helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Zena Cardman being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
