The Los Angeles Rams are facing the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL's first-ever game in Australia with a well-known Indigenous figure giving a speech pre-game while misnaming the home team
Aunty Joy gave her Welcome to Country speech while naming the Rams as the Chargers
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An Indigenous Australian elder accidentally mixed up the Los Angeles Rams with the Los Angeles Chargers during her Welcome to Country pre-game reading.
Aunty Joy, a Senior Wurundjeri elder, was brought in to Melbourne Cricket Ground in the NFL's first-ever regular season game in Down Under, and gave the traditional greeting to both teams. The reading is where an Elder welcomes visitors onto their ancestral lands. She has appeared at several sporting events in Australia in recent years, including numerous rugby and cricket games.
During her speech, she thanked the NFL and both teams, but accidentally mixed up the Rams with the Chargers. It comes as the Rams and San Francisco 49ers had very different approaches to traveling to the nation.
She said, "Thank you to the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Charge... Rams...."
Fans were quick to notice the slip-up on social media, as one reacted, "Woman called the Rams the Chargers," while a second wrote, "She damn near said Los Angeles Chargers".
The camera panned to Sean McVay at one point, who briefly smiled while acknowledging the slip-up before getting back into focus ahead of the game.
Many were unhappy with the Rams after they chose not to spend time in Australia and ingratiate themselves in the nation, making the trip just 29 hours before kick-off.
The Rams played a game in London last season, while they made similar plans, arriving just one day before.
The first-ever NFL game being played in Australia
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Analysts within the organization discovered the approach, while sleep scientists suggested that the Rams may be at an advantage by not adjusting to the time, while feeling like they're playing in the evening. Research shows that athletes reach their physical peak in the late afternoon and evening, more so than in the morning.
Their goal was to minimize the time in Melbourne, leaving Australian fans unhappy.
Head coach Sean McVay said of the decision: "It doesn’t mean that we think we’re right and a different approach is wrong. 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.
"That’s what will always consistently drive our decision-making processes is with the players first and foremost at the forefront of our minds in every decision that we make and keeping guys in their normal rhythm and routine.
"Then some of the different things that we’ve done behind the scenes of people that have done this whether it’s different sports or people that have made these types of trips. We’ve tested it out with some guys and we feel like it’s been positive, but that’s what went into the approach."