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Ben Roethlisberger would play in Dublin for Dan Rooney

While players may not be big on the idea of playing an internationally-hosted game, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said he’d play in Dublin for Dan Rooney due to the Steelers’ owner’s heritage and cultural ties to the country.

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For Dan Rooney, Ben Roethlisberger would play in Ireland.

For another owner, it may be a different story.

And if for nothing else, the Steelers are at least playing in London, with heavy overtones the Steelers may be on the docket for a game in Ireland at some point.

Previous attempts to get the Steelers scheduled for a game there have more or less gone away, but with the appeal of the NFL's International Series said to be increasing, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a game in Dublin scheduled in the future.

And there wouldn't be a more logical choice than the team owned by the former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.

They'd still have to get another team, though, and with plenty of reason for players to not be hip to the idea of making the cross-oceanic flight in the middle of the season, extending their current one-game slate in London each year may be met with the same kind of enthusiasm the push for an 18-game schedule NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell received in 2011.

As for the London game, the Steelers will take on the Vikings, a team in a lame-duck situation in their current stadium, which is set to host its final Vikings game at the end of this season. It makes sense from a business perspective for the Vikings to try to spread its brand internationally while getting to not play in the inflatable eyesore that is the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Would that kind of commitment to frequent flier miles attract potential free agents?