Melbourne is already wearing 49ers colors, but the Rams are the ones officially hosting the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia.
That’s the strange setup heading into Friday, Sept. 11, when San Francisco and Los Angeles meet at Melbourne Cricket Ground at 10:35 a.m. local time - which lands as Thursday night back in the United States. ESPN says the Rams are the designated home team, and the game is expected to draw a sold-out crowd at the MCG.
The visual is hard to miss. Four days before kickoff, Flinders Street Station, one of Melbourne’s most recognizable landmarks and Victoria’s busiest railway hub, was lit in San Francisco red and gold. San Francisco Standard reporter David Lombardi posted video of the station on Sunday and wrote, “One of the most famous buildings in the entire country, the Flinders Street Station, the busiest railway station, is already in 49ers red and gold,”
That sparked plenty of reaction online, including from Jacq (@diamondj1466), who wrote, “I love it.” But the social-media mood and the league’s business reality are not the same thing.
The Rams hold Australia marketing rights under the NFL’s Global Markets Program, something NFL.com and the team have documented since the game was awarded. So while the optics may feel like San Francisco has already claimed the city, the commercial rights belong to Los Angeles.
That split helps explain why both teams are handling the trip so differently.
The 49ers went early and stayed early. A 200-member traveling party arrived in Melbourne on Friday, Sept. 4, after a 15-hour chartered Qantas flight, according to an Associated Press report carried by NFL.com. Their plan is to settle into Melbourne time, practice at AAMI Park and treat Friday morning like a normal game day.
The Rams are taking the opposite approach. NBC Los Angeles reported Monday that Sean McVay’s team is scheduled to arrive Thursday, roughly 24 hours before kickoff, in an effort to stay on West Coast time.
In Los Angeles, the game starts at 5:35 p.m. PT on Thursday.
The idea is simple: keep the body clock close to home and let the stadium clock in Melbourne do the rest.
That creates the real chess match before the opening snap. San Francisco is banking on routine, sleep and adjustment.
Los Angeles is betting that a short stay beats a week of living in a different time zone. One side wants to be fully settled.
The other wants to arrive late and stay familiar.
This isn’t the first NFL game played on Australian soil, but it is the first one that counts. Back in August 1999, the Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers 20-17 in an American Bowl at Stadium Australia in Sydney, now known as Accor Stadium, according to the Los Angeles Times.
That one was preseason. This one is Week 1.
San Francisco brought key names with it, too. George Kittle is back on the field while working his way back from a torn Achilles suffered in January, and Nick Bosa made the trip as he continues to manage the surgically repaired right knee that cost him most of last season. Kittle had previously said he did not want to fly if he could not play, so his presence matters.
The first full practice in Melbourne added some uncertainty. NBC Sports Bay Area reported that Kittle worked in individual drills Monday, while Bosa and Christian McCaffrey did not take part in the open portion of practice. Bosa had said before the flight that he intended to play, but his status remains unconfirmed until the official injury report, which international-game rules do not require until later in the week.
The 49ers do have one confirmed absence. Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu injured his foot in practice before the trip and was ruled out, the AP reported. He had three sacks last season, so that’s a real depth loss off the edge if Bosa’s workload ends up being limited.
The matchup itself is loaded with star power. The Rams will bring Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and a rebuilt front that now includes Myles Garrett.
If Bosa is restricted and Kittle is on any kind of pitch count, San Francisco’s biggest answers arrive short of full strength. If both are available and moving normally, the 49ers get to show up on a 100,000-seat stage built for cricket and Australian rules football looking like themselves.
Kickoff is set for 10:35 a.m. AEST on Friday, Sept. 11, which is 5:35 p.m.
PT and 8:35 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept.
- The Melbourne Cricket Ground event page says the NFL campus opens at 7 a.m. local time.
The 49ers are already settled in. The Rams still have the Pacific to cross.
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