The Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams have finally touched down in Melbourne, just 26 hours before kicking off their NFL season against the San Francisco 49ers.
The team sparked controversy by deciding to leave the grueling 15-hour journey until the last minute, while their opponents took a full week to acclimatize to the time difference down under.
And many of the players didn’t seem to be thrilled as they arrived in Australia at around 8am local time, facing the prospect of a full day ahead of them.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford and head coach Sean McVay were among the star names looking glum as cameras caught them stepping off the plane and heading into the terminal.
Puka Nacua, though, did seem in high spirits as he joked with his teammates upon arrival into Melbourne’s airport.
One player, meanwhile, could not stifle his yawn as the players waited to collect their luggage off the plane.
Rams coach Sean McVay and QB Matthew Stafford looked tired as they arrived in Australia
The players landed in Australia just 26 hours before kickoff against the San Francisco 49ers
The Rams’ Week 1 game against the 49ers will take place at 10.35am on Friday morning local time in Melbourne – an 8.35pm kickoff on Thursday EST.
In total, the Rams will spend about 30 hours on an airplane to travel more than 15,000 miles.
McVay’s team will land back in LA around midday on Friday, local time, after being away from the city for less than 72 hours.
The Rams head coach defended the decision with reporters this week without going into too much detail.
‘It doesn’t mean that we think we’re right and a different approach is wrong,’ McVay said.
‘It’s just what we think is best based on the things that we’ve done and what we’ve learned over our time here.’
The San Francisco 49ers took the early-bird approach by flying out across the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, September 2 before landing on Friday morning in Melbourne.
The Niners arrived in Melbourne days ago and have been acclimatizing ahead of the game
The two teams will play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in their Week 1 matchup
The Rams also opted to do things differently last year when playing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, arriving Saturday before winning on Sunday and quickly returning home.
However, that trip began from America’s East Coast because the Rams played the Ravens in Baltimore a week earlier. As a result, the travel was dramatically reduced compared to this week’s globetrotting business trip.
‘I feel like we’re just keeping it as normal as we possibly can,’ quarterback Matthew Stafford said.
‘Sunday [is] like a Wednesday for us in our world. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, hop on the plane and go. We obviously have experience with doing it [in a] different direction, all that kind of stuff, I understand last year in London, but it felt like it worked out for us.’
