For the second straight year, the Los Angeles Rams will open the season at home. Only this time, they’ll be playing about 8,000 miles away from SoFi Stadium.
Their first game is against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, which isn’t exactly a quick flight from Los Angeles. It’ll be 15 hours there and 15 hours back, and the trip home will feel even longer if it comes after a loss.
Matthew Stafford is 38 years old and had a bad back all throughout training camp last year, so sitting for that long on a plane could be problematic for the veteran quarterback. As excited as he is for the trip, he also acknowledges there are some challenges.
“I’m excited about it,” Stafford said on the “Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday. “Is it difficult logistically to figure that out, especially at my age, to figure out the flight and feel good and play good when we get there? Yes. But at the same time, it is cool to be able to spread this game across the world.”
Stafford called it “an amazing thing” to see the NFL playing games around the globe, but with the distance between Los Angeles and Melbourne – as well as the time difference – it won’t be the easiest road trip for players or coaches.
“I’m excited about it. I know the guys on our team are excited about it. A couple guys have gone down in the offseason and came back and they spoke the same about the flight back and some of the difficulties we might have, but shoot, it’s an NFL season. We’re playing on every day of the week it seems like this year. So just put the ball down and let’s go play.”
Kyren Williams and Kevin Dotson both went down to Melbourne recently, and Steve Avila made the trip at one point, too. Those are likely the players who spoke about the travel difficulty, but the Rams will be prepared the best they can.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Matthew Stafford admits there are ‘some difficulties’ with Australia trip
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
