The Rams and 49ers are getting set to play a game that will be different from any the NFL has staged before, but there might be some familiar sights when they take the field in Australia on Friday—a sea of red. Along with the Eagles, Raiders and Seahawks, the Rams are one of four teams with international marketing rights in Australia and were anointed the home team in the NFL’s first game in the nation. According to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, the Rams “lobbied” to play San Francisco in the Australia matchup because of the way the fan base takes over SoFi Stadium. The Rams were granted their wish. While most teams would not want to trade a home game against their divisional rival at their stadium for an international game, the Rams are in a different position. When the Rams have hosted the 49ers since returning to Los Angeles (in 2016) and opening SoFi Stadium (2020), 49ers fans have invaded SoFi, even forcing the Rams to use silent count in their own stadium at times. The 49ers’ fans travel well, and especially to games at SoFi, the closest stadium to Levi’s—prompting many fans to refer to the Rams’ home as “Levi’s South.” There are also many 49ers fans in Los Angeles, including fans who chose to root for the 49ers while the Rams were located in St. Louis from 1995 to 2015. #49ers fans getting LOUD as team enters onto the field 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/qGbdU4KpsG— 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙎𝙁𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 (@TheSFNiners) September 22, 2024— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 3, 2025If Shanahan’s belief is correct, the Rams might want to be careful what they wished for as the 49ers fanbase could be overbearing again in Melbourne. While fans of both franchises have traveled to the game, recent reports have indicated a much larger presence of 49ers fans has been spotted in the city thus far, and could turn the MCG into “Levi’s Down Under.” “It’s cool for us, we always have an advantage. I see it as one home game a year in L.A. Just the way our fans are and take over [SoFi Stadium],” Shanahan told reporters earlier this week. “It was disappointing to let them off the hook and get them out of that. ... Knowing how our fans roll, I have a feeling they won’t be much different here. I expect to have a good showing.” Not only do the 49ers have a large, global fan base, but their decision to arrive in Australia a week before the game has resonated with a number of locals as they make appearances at local events such as an Australian Football League game and host Special Olympics athletes for a flag football camp. The 49ers and Rams have taken different approaches to travel and handling the jetlag that comes with flying from California to Australia. The 49ers arrived last week to give themselves time to acclimate to the time zone. The Rams, meanwhile, arrived the morning before the game and plan to fly out immediately after—a strategy that worked well for their matchup against the Jaguars in London last season. One Australian fan, Tim Matthews, told Sports Illustrated of the differing travel plans: “[The 49ers] have definitely done the good PR spin, and even the people that probably [are] like 50-50 or didn’t really have a team, they’ll just go for the 49ers just because they feel like they gave a s---.” Matthews, 47, became a 49ers fan in the early 1990s when he was traveling with his family to the Gold Coast and his mom bought him a Joe Montana poster at a sports shop. He recalled that the store had merchandise of the most popular U.S. athletes, such as Montana and Michael Jordan, but not all teams or stars. Per The Athletic, the NFL has said the 49ers are the most popular team in Australia. “I think that comes from being one of the top teams in the ’80s, when a lot of people here consumed the NFL,” NFL Australia and New Zealand general manager Charlotte Offord said of the 49ers’ popularity, according to The Athletic. “And a lot of people continued to follow those top teams.”That has proved true to Matthews, who flew from Brisbane to Melbourne to attend his first 49ers game in person, which he describes as a “pinch myself” moment. Matthews told SI he saw an estimated 30 49ers fans on the flight from Brisbane, and had not seen a single Rams jersey during his first night and morning in Melbourne (though he did end up seeing some more Rams fans later on). He predicts the game will include around 60–65% 49ers fans, 5–10% Rams fans and 25–35% fans from other teams or spectators looking to take in the event—including the Jonas Brothers halftime show. “They’ve definitely taken over, coming a week early,” Matthews said of the 49ers. Since gaining international marketing rights in Australia, the Rams have sent multiple players—and beloved mascot Rampage—down under, both to test out the time zone adjustment and attend local events to market themselves in the country. Running back Kyren Williams, DT Kobie Turner and offensive linemen Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila are among the Rams that have made the trip, and gotten to meet kangaroos as well as visit other local attractions.Rams president Kevin Demoff defended the team’s plans, telling CNBC, “For us, this is a year-round effort, and I would much rather win the game and grow the market the other 51 weeks a year than focus on having our players here for that week.” To Matthews, however, that week leading up to the game has been more important than the other 51. The 49ers’ presence the week of the game is more impactful, especially since the team has spoken to press and local media over the course of the week, helping them endear themselves more to the city. “I think you’ll find a lot of people that are either just picking a team because they want to, or you got people that are just on the fence, or even even people that are staunch fans of other teams that are going, ‘Oh, we’re just going to pick the Niners just because of the effort they’ve actually put in this week and a half while they’ve been here,’” Matthews said. “You can see that they’ve actually left a bit of a legacy. There’s red everywhere.” The 49ers have garnered fan favor and lots of buzz for their decision to come a week early and soak in the local culture. In the end, however, whichever team wins the game will be on the receiving end of the praise for their travel plans and choices. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow