49ers defeat Rams in first-ever NFL regular season game in Australia, draw 100,021 at MCG

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Los Angeles Rams on Friday, September 11 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the first-ever NFL regular season match played in Australia, per Guardian Sport. The crowd reached 100,021 fans, a sell-out at the MCG.

The event marked the start of a four-year agreement between the NFL and Melbourne, though the league has not committed to a game in Australia every season. Fans attending paid hundreds of dollars for tickets, with some paying thousands. Attendance came from more than 30 countries, with almost one in 10 making the trip from the United States, according to Guardian Sport.

The match began at 9am local time. Fans navigated a clear-bag policy imported from NFL stadiums, which barred backpacks and limited containers to roughly the size of an A4 piece of paper. Security lines peaked around 7:30am but cleared in approximately 20 minutes, per the reporting.

Cody Simpson sang Advance Australia Fair before kick-off. Eddie McGuire and G-Flip participated in the coin toss. The Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes performed a flyover. The Jonas Brothers performed at half-time. The US Marines and Australian Defence Force provided an additional fly-over, acknowledging the 25-year mark since the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to Guardian Sport.

NAB predicted $300 million of economic activity in Melbourne's central business district over the weekend from hotels, restaurants, pubs, and retailers, per Guardian Sport. The cost to host the match was at least $10 million and was borne by Victorian taxpayers. Fans at the halfway line sat roughly 50 meters from the action.

Scheduling complications for a potential second Melbourne game already loom: the NFL season start next year falls during the AFL finals, according to Guardian Sport's reporting.