CIARAN Kilkenny and Hannah Tyrrell swapped the green of Ireland for the Green Bay Packers while attending an NFL game in Chicago.
The pair of GAA sharpshooters were stateside as part of a sponsored trip due to their ambassadorial roles promoting the annual college American football game in Dublin each year.
Strolling up to historic Soldier Field which along with Lambeau Field, are the only NFL stadiums to resist selling off naming rights[/caption]
Kilkenny and Tyrrell can be seen on the far right alongside a few friends[/caption]
Kilkenny was decked out in Kansas State Wildcats gear[/caption]
Tyrrell shared this shot of their view looking down from the rafters[/caption]
They predominantly spent their time on the campus of the Kansas State Wildcats where they partook in gridiron workouts while also showing their hosts the basics of Gaelic football.
But they also had enough free time to travel north to Illinois and take in one of the oldest rivalries in US professional sport.
Both forwards shared a ream of photos from Sunday’s matchday between the Chicago Bears and the visiting Packers.
Somehow, the Bears managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as they had a go-ahead 46-yard field goal attempt blocked on the game’s final play.
That continued the recent tradition of the Wisconsin club having the upper hand in the age-old rivalry.
The Pack slightly pre-date their neighbours having been founded in 1919 to the Bears’ 1920.
They were two of the NFL’s eight original franchises with the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants being the only other two still standing.
Sunday’s 20-19 victory ensures head coach Matt LaFleur remains unbeaten against their divisional foes with an 11-0 record since taking over the Packers in 2019.
It also helped them to keep them hot on the heels of the NFC North’s two other high-flying teams in the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings in the division’s standigs.
The eight-time NFL champions Bears meanwhile are rooted to bottom spot with a record of 4-6 on the season.
A long rebuild job looks to be on the cards for what was once a storied franchise but has become a perennial also-ran since their sole Super Bowl triumph in 1985.
Speaking of rebuilding jobs, the Dublin men’s team will have to adapt to life without at least two of its pillars in 2025.
James McCarthy’s retirement has been swiftly followed by the even bigger blow that is Brian Fenton departing the inter-county scene.
Kilkenny, 31, is now one of the elder statesmen of the panel with only a handful of the spine of their all-conquering six-in-a-row side still on the go.
‘Never thought I’d be drinking shots in a car park at 9 am’[/caption]
Earlier in the year the Bears also lost on the rarely seen successful last-second Hail Mary versus the Washington Commanders[/caption]
2024 number one overall draft pick Caleb Williams did at least show signs of promise after a turbulent few weeks that saw his offensive coordinator fired[/caption]
Rumours have abounded that the Castleknock man could similarly be set to call time on his days in blue.
Other veterans like Mick Fitzsimons, Stephen Cluxton and John Small could additionally opt to bring their glittering top-level careers to an end before throw-in of the 2025 campaign.
Fenton won seven All-Irelands with the Dubs and will go down as one of the greatest midfielders in Gaelic football history.
He was nominated for an All-Star this season but did not win a seventh gong at the recent gala event in the capital.
But as first reported by The Irish Times, he will not be seeking to rectify that next year — instead finishing up with inter-county football.
