The Rams Play In Australia In Two Days And They Haven’t Left Yet

Before the NFL season kicks off this weekend, it will kick off Wednesday night with a primetime game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. And then on Thursday night it will kick off again, with a game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, except that game will actually be happening on Friday morning, on account of it being played in Melbourne, Australia. Probably nobody should ask the Rams what day it is when they arrive for the game, because they won't have much time to get acclimated. They aren't leaving Los Angeles until tonight. Rams head coach Sean McVay made the team's travel plans known over the weekend, telling reporters that the team will be boarding a flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne on Tuesday night, and arriving in Australia roughly 24 hours before their game against the 49ers kicks off. The flight from L.A. to Melbourne is roughly 16 hours, which when combined with the 17-hour time difference between the two cities, means that it will be Thursday morning in Australia when the Rams finally land. The game starts at 10:35 a.m. local time on Friday, which leaves the players about a day to acclimate and rest before kickoff. The 49ers left home almost a week ago, and have been practicing in Melbourne this whole time. The Rams are insistent that their plan is better, though, in part because of how they successfully navigated a game in London last season. After beating the Ravens in Week 6, the Rams stayed on the East Coast for a few days before flying to London the day before their Week 7 game against the Jaguars, which they won 35-7. Of course the potential destabilizing effects of a flight from the East Coast to London is nowhere near those presented by one from L.A. to Melbourne, but McVay told reporters that every player on the flight will have a lie-flat bed.

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