Irish interest in NFL heats up as league scouts more international cities to stage games

LONDON (AP) — Several hundred thousand Irish viewers got a tutorial from Charlie Smyth on the difference between lining up a kick in Gaelic football versus a field goal in American football.

Smyth, who had just signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints, humbly told “The Late Late Show’s” national audience that an NFL kicker has to react quickly.

“You don’t have all day to look at the ball,” the 22-year-old Smyth explained. “You just have to go and kick it.”

Almost as quickly, Ireland has become part of the NFL’s international playbook. With Irish interest in the sport rising, Dublin is under review to potentially join the league’s growing list of international cities hosting a regular-season game.

“We’ve seen in the last 12 to 24 months quite a surge of interest there,” Henry Hodgson, general manager of the NFL’s UK office, said of Irish social media activity, merchandise sales, ticket purchases to London games and Super Bowl ratings.