National Football League

Pittsburgh Steelers players warned about Mexico City game in 2000

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:40 p.m. ET

James Parziale

The NFL has long wanted to expand its international footprint. Commissioner Roger Goodell reemphasized at the league meetings last week that the NFL wants to play in more cities across the world.

Next season, the NFL will play three games again in London -- where it has played at least one game since 2007. In 2005, the NFL played a regular-season game in Mexico City, a game in which the Cardinals defeated the 49ers.

The NFL has not been back since despite constant questions every year about a possible return. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette sheds some light on why the league might not have been back.

Here's the reason they stopped playing in Mexico: The NFL deemed it too dangerous. They never said that, but Jerome Bettis told me that his parents missed only two of his games -- home or away -- during his 13-year Hall of Fame NFL career. Their preseason game in Tokyo in 1996 (they made it to Ireland for the game in 1997) and the 2000 game in Mexico City. Bettis told me the reason his parents did not attend the 2000 preseason game was the players were told it was best to keep their families at home because of the danger in Mexico City.

Well that certainly might explain why the NFL has stuck to London for regular-season games.

(H/t PFT)