49ers happy to be in Australia, call it 'a cool experience' - ESPN

MELBOURNE, Australia — Having been here since early Friday morning, Kyle Shanahan's concerns about taking part in the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia have dissipated.

Speaking at his first news conference since arriving in the country ahead of this week's opener against the Rams, the 49ers' coach was loose and jovial during much of his 13-minute session Monday. It was a different tone than the one he took when he voiced frustration about the trip at the league meetings in March.

«That was just about competition and how important our 17 games are,» Shanahan said Monday. «It's cool for us, just we always have an advantage of I see it as one home game a year in L.A. Just the way our fans are and take over [SoFi Stadium, the Rams' home]. It was disappointing to let them off the hook and get them out of that.… Knowing how our fans roll, I have a feeling they won't be much different here.

»I expect to have a good showing. I wouldn't say it hit me right on the plane, but after being here for a couple days, this is the right time to be here, it's the right place to be and it's the right team to go against."

The 49ers spent the weekend attempting to adjust their body clocks to the 17-hour time difference between here and the Bay Area. Shanahan said his players have done a bit of exploring even if the coaching staff has not.

A handful of 49ers attended the Australian Football League game at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday night and then had some free time to explore the city Sunday.

«This has been such a cool experience,» running back Christian McCaffrey said. «There's a lot of question marks when you hear you're playing in Australia, but since we've been here, it's been so cool. The people are unbelievable. The