The NFL’s approach to Sunday’s game in Paris has been to shrug and say, “fi des torpilles.”
Meanwhile, the ongoing unrest has resulted in the cancellation of a Steelers Fan House planned for the days preceding the game.
Via Andrew Fillippoini of 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, the NFL has canceled the event.
“Following recent events in the Bastille neighborhood, and after careful consideration, we felt it appropriate not to move forward with the planned Steelers Fan House event in Paris,” the notice posted by Fillipponi explains.
The message reiterates that preparations for the Steelers-Saints game “continue as planned, with the NFL working closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters.”
It’s fair to ask why the NFL is being so insistent about proceeding with the Paris game in light of the ongoing issues. However small the chance of a problem may be, it’s more than zero percent. While the teams will surely have full security at their hotels and at the stadium and during the trips between the two locations, the fans won’t be fully secure until they enter the perimeter at the venue.
Meanwhile, any efforts to enhance security at the stadium will necessarily result in fewer resources available to the rest of the city.
While different from the Jalen Hurts situation, there’s a common thread. There’s a “show must go on” stubbornness that invites unnecessary risk. But with an inflexible top-down directive to proceed, the NFL is proceeding.
Even if the better approach would be to shift the game to London and go back to Paris next year, or whenever it’s possible to play the game when the risk of any potential situations is as close to zero as possible.