Fans pack Melbourne for the Rams-49ers season opener, the first regular-season NFL game in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Richard Trang booked his tickets soon after the NFL announced the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers season opener would be played in Australia, and was one of the thousands of Americans who made their first trip Down Under to coincide with the game.

An accountant who is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina but now lives in San Francisco, Trang soaked up the atmosphere on a bright, sunny Friday morning at the 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground .

“It’s been great seeing all these red jerseys,” Trang said ahead of the game. “I love the mutual respect between Niners fans and Australians. We love that the Niners came a week early, and Australians feel the same way.”

The 49ers arrived last week and took time in Melbourne to prepare for the game. The Rams arrived a day ahead of time.

Nick and Dorcas Mwangi, who live in Los Angeles, described the chance to see the Rams play in Australia as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The couple, draped in Rams paraphernalia, said their team's fly-in, fly-out approach was the right way to go.

“They’re not going to be here long enough to let jetlag sink in,” Dorcas Mwangi said.

“It’s very simple,” Nick Dorcas added. “No distractions. You come in, take care of business, and then get out.”

The Mwangis have been taking advantage of Melbourne’s walkability to check out the local sites, from Federation Square to St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral along the way.

Other fans flew in without tickets, hoping to get lucky in the days before kick-off. Dion Carrancho was among the lucky ones.

“We usually wait until the day of the game because prices drop, so that’s what we did,” said Carrancho, who lives in Los Angeles but supports the 49ers. He was confident ahead of the game: “The Rams are Super Bowl favorites, but we’ll beat them. We always do.”

Carrancho is also planning to travel to Mexico City when San Francisco plays the Minnesota Vikings in November.

Rick Lane, a life-long Rams fan, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was making his third trip to Australia but visiting the southeastern city of Melbourne for the first time.

“I’m here to see my Rams play,” the 66-year-old electrician said. “I’ve been a fan since 1969. The first game I ever saw on TV was the Rams and the Vikings, and I fell in love with the ram horns.”

Lane was also not concerned about the Rams travel approach ahead of the Melbourne game.

“My flight was 17 hours, I slept 13,” he said. The Rams players “had full lay out beds, and I didn’t have any of those perks that they had, so I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

Big NFL events always lead to long lines for souvenirs and merchandise, and Melbourne has been no exception.

The hundreds of fans who stood on the sidewalk for hours outside the official NFL store downtown went viral earlier this week, and the lines inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground on game day were similar.

Hundreds upon hundreds of fans stood in snaking queues on the concourse just outside the stadium for the chance to peruse the merchandise, while hundreds more lined up at the fewer, smaller spots inside the arena to buy something for proof of attendance at the first regular-season NFL game in Australia.

Plenty of Australians also took advantage of the opportunity to see their favorite team play at the storied MCG.

Andrew Burgess, from Nelson Bay near Sydney in New South Wales state, said he'd been supporting the 49ers since seeing them on TV in the 1980s.

The 68-year-old retiree has traveled overseas to watch the 49ers, but said it meant “everything” to see the team on Australian soil.

“Particularly since we’re playing our arch enemy,” he said. “This is one of the most significant games of the season.”

Burgess was realistic about the viewing experience at the G, an oval-shape stadium which is usually home to cricket and Australian rules football.

“The distance from the sideline is a problem — I’ve accepted the fact that I will be eight miles away from the action,” he said, joking, “but I don’t care. Once it was announced, non-attendance was not an option.”

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