We’ve known for a while that the Saints will be playing a game in Paris this season. Now, we know the date and their opponent – October 25th against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jeff Duncan, who covers the Saints for The Advocate and NOLA.com, says everyone thought that their opponent would be the Browns, but the NFL had other ideas.
“I think they wanted a more marquee opponent. They would probably never come out and say that publicly, but certainly the Pittsburgh Steelers, with their heritage, their great tradition of winning Super Bowls, certainly makes for an attractive matchup,” Duncan said.
The two teams have met 17 times, with the Saints leading the all-time series, 9-8, including wins in four of the last five matchups.
This game will officially be a Saints home game. Duncan says in a way, it really will be a Saints home game – the Saints have exclusive marketing rights to France.
“They’re the only team in the NFL that has those marketing rights; and this is all part of a leaguewide initiative to grow the American football sport beyond the American border,” Duncan noted.
Duncan says if you’re planning on going, make your plans now, and plan on arriving a few days earlier, since there will be plenty of events and plenty of opportunities for networking with fellow Saints fans.
“The comparison I’ve heard from New Orleans tourism officials is that if you’ve ever been to Washington D.C. for Washington Mardi Gras, it’s going to be very similar to that event,” Duncan said.
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