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49ers fans head to Australia for historic NFL game against Rams
49ers fans are traveling from the Bay Area to Melbourne, where a sellout crowd of 100,000 is expected for the first NFL regular-season game ever played in Australia.
SAN FRANCISCO - 49ers fans heading down under for a historic start to the NFL season got one more surprise before leaving the Bay Area: Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young.
Young joined the 49ers Gold Rush cheerleaders at San Francisco International Airport Monday night, greeting passengers and handing out 49ers swag before they boarded a United Airlines flight to Melbourne.
Young said his longtime relationship with both the 49ers and United made it an easy invitation to accept.
"We've been together a long time, and so they asked me to come and send off all the 49ers fans. I'm like, for the big game going to Australia, yeah, it'd be awesome. So I'm up here," Young said.
The 49ers will face the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the first NFL regular-season game ever played in Australia.
"This is super exciting because there's never been an NFL football game in Australia. We're going to see if this even works, but it's pretty cool if it does because Australia is one of those places. I went there on my honeymoon, and I can't wait to go again," Young said.
Young predicted the Faithful making the roughly 8,000-mile journey would make their presence known.
"Niner fans travel. You've seen it. We take over stadiums. We'll take over the stadium down there. You watch. It'll be like there'll be a lot of Australian fans. I get that, but that stadium will be loud for the 49ers. Just always is. They can play anywhere in the world," Young said.
Young knows something about playing football overseas. He recalled traveling internationally with the 49ers for preseason games during his playing career.
"I played preseason games in Barcelona, in Berlin, London a number of times. We went to Tokyo. Like I'd never been anywhere in the world, and with the 49ers, we went all over the world. It was preseason back then. We traveled, and so now that it's regular season, it's crazy, but it's super fun," Young said.
Niners fever builds in Melbourne
The 49ers have already been in Melbourne for several days, practicing and adjusting to the time difference ahead of their season opener.
The Rams are taking a different approach, arriving much closer to game day. Young said he will be watching closely to see which strategy pays off.
"I can't wait to see how this plays out because, to me, the Rams are risking - like are people are going be dizzy? I think traditionally you want to get there early, get acclimated. That's what the 49ers did, and they've been great," Young said.
Young also credited the 49ers for engaging with Australian fans during their extended stay.
"The 49ers did a great thing in kind of making Australian people feel part of us too. So you wonder why 49er fans travel? It's because we go down there a week early to make sure we're taking care of everybody," Young said.
The excitement is already evident across Melbourne.
American expat Chris Shannon lives in a penthouse overlooking the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where a sellout crowd of 100,000 is expected. He said many of the fans he's seeing are Australians who have followed the 49ers for years.
"I think there's a really, really huge 49er contingency here in Melbourne, and I think all over Australia there's the Niner Empire, and you know I've seen a lot of news footage of Niner Empire being here, and I thought it was going to be American folks coming over, but it was all Aussie people, and they've been fans for years," Shannon said.
Shannon is hosting about 50 American and Australian guests for a tailgate breakfast on game morning. Around Melbourne, he said jerseys representing both the current team and 49ers legends are easy to spot.
"There's a lot of McCaffrey jerseys hanging around town, I mean a lot of people you know they know who Joe Montana is or Jerry Rice or you know Bill Walsh and all these great you know players from the 80s, when they were a big dynasty, but there's a lot of current jerseys," Shannon said.
49ers Rush Podcast host John Chapman, who traveled to Australia for the game, said the red and gold presence has been hard to miss.
"I think we've seen two Rams fans since we've been here, and well over several hundred Niner fans everywhere, and so red and gold is everywhere," Chapman said.
Chapman said Melbourne itself has embraced the NFL's historic first regular-season game in Australia.
"Melbourne has laid out a welcoming mat for the 49ers and Rams. There's posters everywhere. There's giant Rams uniforms painted on the side of buildings, murals, banners all over the place. It really feels kind of like almost the lead up that you would have to a lot of the Super Bowls. The city has gone all out," Chapman said.
Back at SFO, more of the Faithful were preparing to join the festivities.
East Bay resident and 49ers season ticket holder Denise Vincenzi said the game offered an opportunity to combine her favorite team with a bucket-list trip.
"I'm really excited... I've always wanted to go to Australia, as my bucket list. So how can I pass that up when my Niners are playing over there? I didn't even really have to think twice," Vincenzi said.
Kickoff is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. Friday in Melbourne, meaning tailgate parties and breakfasts will begin early in the morning.
For fans still considering a last-minute trip, resale tickets were starting at around $500 for some upper-level seats Sunday night, with lower-level seats going for more.
Betty Yu is a KTVU FOX 2 reporter. Follow her on Instagram and X at @bett_yu.
The Source: Interviews with Steve Young, fans, information provided by United Airlines