How NFL brought 49ers-Rams to 'sports mad' Australia - ESPN

MELBOURNE, Australia — By the time San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had a chance to publicly discuss playing the Los Angeles Rams in Australia, 53 days had passed since the NFL announced the matchup.

Speaking at league meetings on March 31, a reporter had barely finished the question when Shanahan made his feelings clear. Though the 46-year-old coach said he understands it's «cool» for the league to expand globally, he doesn't see any «pro» for a team to take a 16-hour flight across the international dateline.

The next day, Shanahan told PFT Live that he knew «for a fact» the Rams had pushed to play San Francisco to prevent 49ers fans from taking over SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. That theory gained steam in the Bay Area and had the backing of Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, but it was ultimately not the reason the Rams and Niners are set to meet at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday (8:35 p.m. ET, Netflix).

«We did not select the Niners at all,» said Kevin Demoff, the Rams' team president. «I know they would love to think of themselves highly enough to say that, but that was not the case at all.»

In reality, the Melbourne opener is the culmination of the NFL's four-year journey to deliver a marquee matchup that can ensure its first foray into the region will leave fans in this part of the world yearning for more. The record-setting travel (roughly 8,000 miles) also requires the toughest test yet of compromise between the league's global ambition and the comfort of its teams.

For the Rams, it's a trip to the Eastern Hemisphere more than a decade in the making. In 2016, they looked into playing a regular-season game in China. As the NFL closed in on plans for a game in Australia in 2024, the Rams