I don't want to say that we should all start taking international travel tips from the Los Angeles Rams, but we all might want to start taking international travel tips from the Los Angeles Rams. When it comes to taking an international trip, there's one opponent almost no one has figured out how to beat -- and that's jet lag. A trip to Europe can be absolutely miserable for the first 24 hours because you can't stay awake during the day and can't fall asleep at night, but that's nothing compared to what the Rams and 49ers will deal with this week when they head to Australia.
Both NFL teams are based in the Pacific Time Zone, and they'll travel to Melbourne, which has a 17-hour time difference from California. The game between the 49ers and Rams kicks off at 10:35 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, in Australia, which will actually be a Thursday night kickoff (8:35 p.m. PT) in the United States.
This could be a game where the team with the better travel plan actually gains an edge, which makes things interesting because the 49ers and Rams have two completely different philosophies for how they're going to handle the trip. The 49ers, who left for Melbourne on Wednesday, will arrive in Australia a week before kickoff so they can acclimate to the time change. The Rams, well, they'd prefer not to acclimate to anything.
The Rams have put together an unconventional travel plan that NFL teams might look to copy ... but only if it works. Based on how the Rams have played in international games under Sean McVay, it sure feels like they've cracked the code on international travel, which might explain why McVay has been so secretive about their travel plans to Australia. Over the past month, McVay has been asked numerous times what the team's itinerary is going to look like, and he always finds a way to duck the question.
McVay has offered only one hint about the team's travel plan, and that came back in July when he said the travel schedule for Australia would look similar to what the Rams did for London in 2025. "It'll be a similar approach, and really the goal for us is to try to keep guys in as close to a rhythm and routine as possible," McVay said. "This is new to us, even going this far." Last year, it felt like the Rams revolutionized international travel in the NFL when they became the first team ever to arrive in London just one day before their game.
They landed in England on a Saturday, and the plan worked because they ended up destroying the Jaguars 35-7 on Sunday. If the Rams stick to a similar plan, they'll arrive in Australia the day before the game. According to ESPN, the Rams are planning to leave Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
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