San Francisco 49ers Kyle Juszczyk is looking forward to the experience of playing in Australia. However, he’s just not going to pretend the logistics are simple.
The 49ers’ fullback appeared on the Rich Eisen Show this week and gave a candid take on San Francisco’s season-opening game against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. He acknowledged the challenges while keeping his focus on the opportunity.
“It’s a long, long flight,” Juszczyk said. “But what a cool experience to be one of the first teams to ever play an NFL game in Australia and to play in such a big stadium like that and have over 100,000 fans there. It’s going to be a cool life experience.
“The weeks after that might not be the best as far as recovery and that sort of thing. It’s not ideal, but it’s something we’re going to deal with. We’re going to figure it out. We’re going to be okay. We’re going to take it head-on.”
The trip is one of the more unusual logistical challenges any NFL team has faced to open a season. The 49ers will have to travel more than 15,000 miles round-trip for a game that takes place around 18 hours ahead when a team would normally expect to play. Not only that, but the 49ers also travel the most total miles in the NFL.
Still, Juszczyk’s framing was consistent with how the 49ers typically approach outside noise: acknowledge it, then move past it.
“At the end of the day, it’s about how well you can play football,” he said. “It’s not about how far you have to travel. Hopefully we can travel far and play good.”
This game will set the tone of the 49ers season. A win over a division rival and Super Bowl contender will set the stage for a quality year in San Francisco. While a loss won’t be the end of the world so early in the year, it’ll make the long trip home that much worse for the team.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Kyle Juszczyk gives honest take about 49ers’ Australia game
Reporting by Oliver G., Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
