To many Irish people, American Football is a fundamentally irritating sport; in short, it’s basically rugby, but they break the one rule of rugby so it’s not, and there’s also less playing time.

But to some, namely Limerick native Jack Price, captain of the Trinity College Dublin American Football (TCDAF) team, and unfortunately a Philadelphia Eagles fan, it’s a lot more.

Price explained to me that American Football is getting bigger in Ireland, and fast. Part of the reason for this is that since 1988, Dublin has hosted the Emerald Isle Classic: an American college football game played in Dublin, and the first NCAA-sanctioned American college football game played in Europe. 

Most recently Georgia Tech faced off against Florida State in the Aviva Stadium. It reached record viewership, up 41% over the previously most watched Week 0 show in 2022, with the 2023 game featuring Notre Dame’s famous “Fighting Irish”.

Beyond college football, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL were recently awarded the right to choose Ireland as their ‘Global Market’ (similar to how the Jacksonville Jaguars expanded their presence in the UK). Irish streaming services are already fighting to keep up with growing demand for NFL games, with local pubs and bars showing select games on their TVs. According to Price “whether you know it or not, you definitely know someone connected to American football.” He continued “It [American football] is getting more of a place than people realise (…) and it’s not something we can stop”.

Price explained that these trends can be seen on a local-level. He fell in love with American football accidentally. Happening across his father watching Super Bowl LIII (Patriots-Rams, 2019), he realised that he understood nothing and thought to himself, as he puts it; “I have to conquer this.” He joined an under-18s team soon after with some friends, trekking from Limerick to Cork on weekends. There were four teams in the youth league at that point, five years later, there are nine, with more to come. Indeed, Price stuck with American Football, alongside his friend, both of whom have had the opportunity to play for the Irish national team.

“Lots of people are very confused… Couldn’t I just play rugby?”/pullquote]

“Lots of people are very confused,” Price laughed when I asked about how people reacted to his participation in American football. “Couldn’t I just play rugby?” he shrugged. He pays very little mind to such questions, and pivoted to let me know that he cares about the people that say “that is so interesting, please tell me more” (which has increased greatly in recent years).

I asked Price what he thought the spirit of American Football was, expecting something along the lines of Friday Night Lights, Tailgate parties, or “Brotherhood”. Instead, he said something profound. “Playing is so important to me.” He continued: “There’s no feeling like lining up against someone else and fighting to see who wants it more.” He mentioned that many people are scared of American football when they get hit for the first time, but the first time Price got hit “I was awake.”

The club itself, at Trinity, has sadly faced some challenges. Numbers have been inconsistent, and this year they have had to cut back to exclusively flag football (i.e. no contact). Price is not unduly upset about this change, and is just excited to get people comfortable with the format, rules, and vibe. “It’s a bit of fun. Going for fun this year.” This is of course in conjunction with “making sure lads, [pause, looks to the reporter] and ladies, are committed.”

This numbers problem is old, in fact TCDAF has existed since the early nineties: then-named the Dublin University Gridiron Society playing as the Trinity Thunderbirds. The society was doomed by 1995, and was forced to end due to lack of people and interest.

But the fact is, this new TCDAF (formed in 2008) is different and this year’s batch is especially passionate.

I had the opportunity to join some team members at the Wool Shed for Sunday Night Football before officially meeting Jack Price. I was met with a kind, but incredibly spirited group (so much so that after reaching a baseline level of friendliness with me, they threatened to chop me into bits and throw me into the ocean for being a Dallas Cowboys fan). TCDAF is willing to do everything ittakes for the team to really take off. They’re tracking player statistics during practice fantasy-football-style, as well as making accommodations for Freshers who may need help locating Santry sports ground, and are open to the possibility of this reporter making adorable cropped TCDAF-branded tank tops.

Jack Price left me with some final half-wise words – words that speak to the heart of TCDAF: “Come play for Trinity – and go Eagles.”

The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the reporter.