The Pittsburgh Steelers’ week in Paris has already produced one cancellation, and now it’s forced another.
After scrapping an official fan watch party earlier this week because of civil unrest and street protests in the French capital, the team had to pull the plug on its scheduled Friday morning practice at the Stade de France. This time, the issue wasn’t unrest. Storm Austen brought high winds and rain, pushing the Steelers indoors for a hotel walk-through instead.
That leaves Saturday’s walk-through as Pittsburgh’s only on-field workout in the country before Sunday’s historic regular-season game against the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France. The matchup remains on schedule despite the disruptions around the city. An authorized march is set to begin at Place de la Bastille on Saturday, but there have been no disruptions at NFL sites so far in the lead-up to kickoff.
The Steelers arrived in Paris overnight and landed Friday morning expecting to head straight from the plane to the practice field. Instead, they went to the hotel, where they will get bodywork and treatment and hold a 30-minute practice.
“We had two plans coming in,” McCarthy told reporters in Paris. “Just really wanted to acclimate the players after the long flight, just based off the communication with the weather and the reality of the timing too.
We had to make the decision before we landed, just to put it together. But frankly, driving by, I wish we would’ve stopped.
But this is part of our plan.”
It wasn’t raining during the interviews, but a windstorm was still rolling through the city.
The Saints, meanwhile, have spent the week in town and have already had time to acclimate and practice in France before the game.
Pittsburgh enters the Week 7 matchup as a 3.5-point favorite over New Orleans. The unrest in Paris is not expected to impact the game itself, with local law enforcement expected to maintain a heavy presence.
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