PARIS — Mary and Brian Storgaard stood out like a pair of sore thumbs as they strolled their way down a sidewalk located alongside the Eiffel Tower. The middle-aged couple from Sturgis, S.D., normally keeps their travel destinations consistent.

“Either Pittsburgh for a Steelers game or Maui for vacation,” Mary said with a smile.

Their big, bright yellow and dark black team-branded jackets explained the reason behind why they decided to step outside their comfort zone.

The Storgaards’ story is one likely similar to many other members of Steeler nation. They were immediately intrigued by the thought of watching their football team play overseas. They booked the trip months ago, sparing no expenses to create a once-in-a-lifetime gridiron journey.

Recent news headlines has left some wondering if the journey was still worth it. The past few weeks have featured numerous sizable protests throughout the nation of France.

The unrest was especially strong in Paris, where last weekend, more than 800,000 people reportedly took part in demonstrations throughout the city. Some of those once-peaceful demonstrations turned to riots, resulting in major damage to local businesses in buildings.

Videos of riots flooded the internet, leaving many to question if a trip to Paris would be safe. The Storgaards, however, were never truly worried.

“It’s just what you believe on the internet,” Mary said. “The algorithm is what it is. I pressed on something bad one day and that’s all that came up. I went back to the good and then that’s what came up.

“I was more worried about just traveling around in a new country where I don’t speak the native language, but that’s been easy. Honestly, all of this has been easy.”

That easygoing experience has been a consistent theme among the Steelers fans who chatted with the Post-Gazette about their trip, regardless of international travel experience.

Bob and Karen Granger have far more stamps in their passport. Heck, their daughter currently lives in the United Kingdom.

The middle-aged couple from London, Ontario, spend their falls traveling anywhere and everywhere to watch the black and gold. Last year’s trip to Ireland was among their favorites, inspiring them to book flights to Paris for this year’s game as soon as they possibly could.

Karen wasn’t ashamed to admit some apprehension toward going through with the trip. The videos on social media last weekend had her thinking twice. But all questions were silenced Sunday evening whenever the New Orleans Saints left for Paris.

“We knew when they flew here Sunday night that we’d probably be good,” Bob said.

Collin Heaney, a resident of Warwick, R.I., didn’t need any convincing to begin with. He’d been saving for this trip since last year’s game in Ireland.

He missed out on the fun last year and wasn’t going to allow anything from doing so again.

“I feel like sometimes the media has this idea to blow some things out of proportion,” Heaney said. “I’m not saying there isn’t something going on. A lot of people have made everything happening sound like a very big deal. But after my own research, it didn’t seem that bad.”

Heaney and his friend Berat Kales arrived in Paris Wednesday. Both felt Heaney’s analysis was validated upon arrival. As the two mid-20-somethings roamed the City of Lights throughout the afternoon and evening, neither said they felt unsafe or worried.

Sure, both noticed signs of what had taken place. Heaney was a bit taken back from the visual of a French policeman standing outside a government building, armed with an AK-47. They noticed a few broken windows in storefronts as well, along with a few random piles of burned debris from the weekend prior.

But overall, had it not been for the videos online, the two friends agreed they likely wouldn’t have ever thought to be worried in the first place.

“Walking around, everything seems fine,” Heaney said. “It all seems safe.”

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