Rams Could Lose Their “Home” Game in Australia to a Sea of 49ers Red Because of Sean McVay’s Stubbornness

San Francisco 49ers fans may outnumber Rams fans in Melbourne.

Rams Could Lose Their “Home” Game in Australia to a Sea of 49ers Red Because of Sean McVay’s Stubbornness

Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay (Image via IMAGO)

The NFL announced that the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers would take part in the first-ever regular-season game on Australian soil. Experts have floated several theories behind the selections. The NFL could have sent the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that boasts arguably the biggest Aussie expat, Jordan Mailata, to the land down under, but it did not.

According to some rumors, the Rams exclusively picked the 49ers as their opponents for this fixture. Well, the theory is that the LA franchise wanted to avoid being outnumbered by 49ers fans at SoFi Stadium, which it has routinely done since the stadium opened in 2020.

The Rams may have already hit themselves on the foot. Kyle Shanahan, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Fred Warner, Deommodore Lenoir, and Nick Bosa have already landed in Australia a week before kickoff and built a strong rapport with locals.

49ers beat writer Dontay Atkinson reported:

I hope [the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell] appreciates that the 49ers are spending a full week at public events and interacting with locals in Melbourne, doing the NFL’s ambassador work. The team does seem to be enjoying the people there. The Rams are the “home team,” and the party responsible for requiring the 49ers to take that lengthy trip [and we all know why], and they’ve done exactly jack squat to sell the NFL brand or connect with Australians. Fly in, fly out, no contact. I’m sure the Aussies feel great about that snub. Fail.

It would appear the Rams did not do their research before picking the Niners. Matt Barrows of The Athletic revealed that teams who have a big following in

According to the NFL, the 10 most popular teams in the country are, in order: the 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Eagles, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Rams, Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens.

Barrows wrote

Notice how Barrows started the list with the 49ers. He could have picked the Chiefs, who have won three championships recently and boast Taylor Swift as an honorary member, or the Patriots, for whom Tom Brady played for two decades and won six rings. And yet the Niners likely trump both franchises in support.

Honestly, no one back home will be surprised if MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) is filled with a sea of red jerseys on September 10.

RELATED
“I Felt Like a Bad Husband” – NFL Veteran Recalls Tough Time When Bills Cut Him After Marriage

Sean McVay backs the Rams’ travel plans ahead of opening day clash against the 49ers

While the Niners are busy acclimatizing themselves to the Melbourne time zone and the locals, the Rams have adopted a very different approach. The team will travel from LA to Melbourne (a 17-hour flight similar to Baltimore to London last year), play the game, and board the return flight within 30 hours.

Rams Could Lose Their “Home” Game in Australia to a Sea of 49ers Red Because of Sean McVay's Stubbornness
Matthew Stafford (Image via IMAGO)

Dr. Jesse Morse explained his hypothesis behind the Rams’ unique approach.

The theory for the Rams player’s bodies won’t have enough time for the jet lag and time zones to kick in and impact them. They’re gonna land play the game within 24 hours and likely leave shortly thereafter. Minimizing the impact of the travel on their circadian rhythms.

Morse tweeted

Rams head coach Sean McVay understands there’s a certain amount of risk in their premeditated travel plans, but remains hopeful that it will hand them an advantage.

I understand the narratives. That’s just part of the nature, but what you have to do is be able to separate the actual result for what is actually sound in terms of your process. I’m comfortable with that. That’s the world that we live in. … That’s kind of the price of doing business.

McVay said via LA Times

But the even bigger question is: will Aaron Donald start against the 49ers? McVay cleverly remained non-committal. He said that if Donald feels he’s ready to travel, the veteran edge rusher will be among the first on the plane.

Aaron Donald, 35, came out of retirement to sign a one-year contract extension with the Rams. Donald agreed to it after the Rams traded for reigning DPOY Myles Garrett.

Netflix will stream the Rams-49ers week one fixture at 5:35 p.m. MST. The Rams will start as 3.5-point favorites over the 49ers.

Also Read: