The assembled press kept asking, but the American would not give them what they wanted. Just what does San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan think of Melbourne? Australians relish what the rest of the world thinks of them, perhaps none more than Melburnians.
Of their status as the country’s so-called sporting capital. The travelling NFL media contingent have been doing the heavy lifting, espousing opinions on local cuisine and lifestyle difference. Some, like Grant Cohn, have brought their brash approach to tongue-in-cheek coverage of local sport; he called for the Western Bulldogs to trade Marcus Bontempelli.
Circus or spectacular, the coming days will prove. Either way, this experiment will not be cheap. The Victorian government reportedly paid in excess of $10m for the NFL’s first regular season match in Australia (an exhibition was played in Sydney in 1999).
It is the latest stop in the league’s international series that began with the UK in 2007, and has since expanded to Mexico, Germany, Brazil, Ireland, France and Spain. The actual match – which kicks off at the MCG on Friday morning and will be broadcast into homes via Netflix – is expected to draw the largest US TV audience for any event in Australia since the 2000 Olympics. But this is about more than football.
While Shanahan might not see much of Melbourne, millions more will, both in the United States and for those fans who travel to Australia. Offensive tackle Trent Williams arrived early in time to watch last week’s Geelong v Collingwood AFL final at the MCG. The fans are further away, and the way the stands are, the bowl shape, it’s very unique.” The NFL’s presence in Melbourne is very real, however, for sports fans and brands.
The game is almost sold out, with only VIP packages and a handful of roughly $600 resale seats left. The 18,000-capacity NFL fan festival at Melbourne Park – where access costs $49 per adult – is presented by a credit card company. Inside, the advertising is impossible to miss, including activations from a car brand, a trading card manufacturer and even a mayonnaise promising an “immersive American tailgate experience”.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
