The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams have taken very different approaches to their travel plans for Thursday Night Football's game in Australia, while making the 8,000-mile trip
The 49ers and Rams will play in Australia on Thursday
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The Los Angeles Rams arrived in Australia a little over 24 hours before kick-off in their NFL season opener, while the San Francisco 49ers have been in the country for almost a week.
The Rams' decision to make the trip so late feels like a wild one, with Los Angeles 17 hours behind Melbourne. The flight took just under 16 hours, leaving the Rams little time to adjust, sleep, and prepare for their game against their NFC West rivals.
According to reports, the Rams have long been discovering the best way to approach long-distance travel games, since their trip to London to face the Jacksonville Jaguars 10 months ago. They had also arrived just one day before, going on to dominate a strong Jaguars team.
There have been arguments that this will be beneficial to the Rams, as their body clocks will not adjust to the time in Melbourne.
The game is being played at 11:35 am local time, which is around the same time they'd usually kick-off.
Sleep scientists suggest that athletes reach their physical peak in the late afternoon and evening, more so than in the morning.
Meanwhile, the Niners players will have adjusted to the Melbourne timezone.
Kyle Shanahan has admitted it has been a difficult time getting acclimated to the time
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They are reported to be waking up significantly earlier to fit in their regular game-day routine, making the trip from their hotel to the stadium before the game begins.
Despite being there for a few days, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan has admitted it has been a difficult and confusing adjustment.
He told reporters, "We're a little confused with when I look at my clock, and it says the time, and then I try to see my family's time, and it says the time, but it says yesterday. I don't get how that's possible. So I feel like I'm in the future."
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The Melbourne Cricket Ground is playing host to the game
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He joked, "Because we are technically in the future, and the Rams are in the present, I don't have to talk about injuries until tomorrow."
The 49ers sustained a brutal start to their season while losing starting defensive lineman Alfred Collins for the season, after he tore his patellar tendon in the team's final training session before the game on Thursday night.
The game follows the Seattle Seahawks opening the season against the New England Patriots on Wednesday evening.