Pittsburgh Steelers to Fly Into New York Area Hours Before Playing Giants on Sunday

by NESN Staff on Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 2:07AM

The Pittsburgh Steelers might be at a severe disadvantage on Sunday beyond just a normal road game. That being said, you likely won't hear the team complaining about their odd travel schedule.

With the team preparing to take on the Giants on Sunday in New York's MetLife Stadium, they're well aware of the damage that Hurricane Sandy caused the surrounding areas. In fact, the hotel that the team usually stays at near Newark Airport in New Jersey is still without power, and the team has declined to look for another one in the area, according to ESPN and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"Before we looked for another one [hotel], we decided we just didn't
feel right about asking employees at any of the hotels down there to
start making a bunch of extra efforts to accommodate us, when so many of
them are having issues themselves," said an anonymous Steelers official. "There are a lot of very difficult things going on for a lot of people in that area. Us having to fly in and out on the same day as a football game is no hardship in comparison."

Normally, NFL rules stipulate that a traveling team must arrive in its destination city the day before a road game, but the league wisely made an exception in this case. So the Steelers will fly into Newark the day of the game, have a pregame meal near the airport, and then head over to the stadium.

Of course, the travel schedule only figures to make things that much more difficult for the Steelers, who have gone 1-3 on the road this year. However, considering the cancellation of the Brooklyn Nets' home opener on Thursday, they're probably lucky just to get the game in as scheduled.

Photo of the Night

Tim Lincecum isn't that scary, is he? And, just for the record, the man with The Freak is alongside California lieutenant governor, and former San Francisco mayor, Gavin Newsom. That's pretty good company.

Photo via Twitter/Diane Ellis

Quote of the Night

"I hope we get some holding calls because they have gotten away with murder."
–Justin Tuck making his feelings known about Pittsburgh's offensive offense in advance of the Steelers-Giants matchup this Sunday