The NFL is officially headed to the land down under for the first time, with the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers set to face off in the first-ever game in Australia. This game, featuring two Super Bowl contenders and NFC West rivals, is set to take place at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday and is going to be streamed exclusively on Netflix.
It's a game that everyone is going to want to see, which is why the NFL chose to have the game begin at a friendly hour for the US football fans. As ideal as that may be, does that not defeat the entire purpose of having a game in Australia?
What time does the NFL Australia game start in the US?
Kickoff is set for 8:35 p.m. ET, which is 5:35 p.m. ET for 49ers and Rams fans out west. This is a time that makes sense for US fans, as normal Thursday Night Football games begin at 8:15 p.m. ET. An 8:35 p.m. ET start allows fans all over the US to catch most, if not the entire game.
While that's all fine and great, it's worth repeating that this game is played in Melbourne, Australia, where it is 14 hours ahead of the United States. The game time is convenient for fans in the US, but can the same really be said about the fans in Australia?
What time does the NFL Australia game kick off in Australia?
The ball should be kicked at 10:35 a.m. in Australia. Yes, this is a morning game for the locals. Honestly, I think a morning game sounds like a lot of fun. The idea of getting out of bed and running straight to a professional football game sounds awesome. Is it for the locals, though?
For Australians, this game is taking place on a Friday morning. A vast majority of the country will be busy working or at school and will be unable to pay attention to this game in real time. Is that really what the NFL wants?
NFL proves Australia game was completely pointless with ridiculous start time
What was the point here? I understand what the NFL is doing in terms of its bottom line. There shouldn't be an issue filling the stadium in Australia, and having it in prime time in the United States gives the league the best chance to have as many eyeballs as possible on the TV. Is that really what the NFL is going for, though?
What is the point of having a game in Australia only to make it easier for fans in the US to watch? The US fans are not watching because the game is in Australia - they're watching because it's an NFL game between two bitter rivals who happen to also be contenders. They want to watch Myles Garrett make his Rams debut. They want to watch Brock Purdy try to score points against Garrett and the rest of L.A.'s defense. That's not good enough to draw casual fans in Australia, though. If the NFL ever plans to expand to Australia, do they really want to play games at 10:35 a.m. local time every week?
If all the NFL cares about is making games at manageable times for fans in the US, there's no reason to even have a game in Australia. The NFL had a real opportunity to showcase its sport to Australians by choosing a time that'd be convenient for them, and for reasons only Roger Goodell can really explain, they chose against that.
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