# 🏈 Melbourne Game Diaries 🏈 | Behind the Scenes at the NFL - Rams Vs. 49ers

An episode of [The Howie Games](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1146329262), 13 Sep 2026, 31 min.

Audio: https://enrichment.soundstack.com/4vjqq8/episode.flightcast.com/ltbg2cbukavy7b0nnuvrjs4l.mp3

NFL fever took over Melbourne, and The Howie Games was right in the thick of it! Go behind the scenes with an NFL broadcast team, hear how American play-by-play callers bring the game to life, get within metres of the action on the sidelines, and step inside the winning 49ers locker room after the game. Part sport, part concert, part organised chaos - the Americans certainly don’t do things by halves. This is your backstage pass to a historic day of NFL action at the ’G. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:02] A listener production.
[0:12] 30 million fans with eyes on Australia.
[0:15] That's the reality as a different kind of footy fever grips the country.
[0:19] NFL fever has completely taken over Melbourne.
[0:22] American football mania has well and truly hit Melbourne.
[0:25] The biggest sporting event in the world.
[0:27] Hallowed turf transformed for the San Francisco 49ers.
[0:31] The 49ers.
[0:32] 49ers.
[0:33] San Francisco 49ers.
[0:35] And Los Angeles Rams.
[0:36] Rams.
[0:37] The Rams are officially down under.
[0:39] Who's out?
[0:42] as the NFL takes over the MCG.
[0:44] I couldn't think of a better game to watch if I was in no point.
[0:49] It feels like a Super Bowl.
[0:50] This feels like Super Bowl week.
[0:51] 90, bless it.
[0:52] Thank you.
[1:00] Roll up, roll up.
[1:00] It's 9.21am on a beautiful...
[1:05] cloudless, crisp spring day in Melbourne.
[1:09] Welcome to the Melbourne Game Diaries.
[1:11] So what is this?
[1:11] I don't know.
[1:13] But there is people everywhere.
[1:16] So when I typically come to this ground, I know exactly what's going on.
[1:19] I've been privileged to be here for AFL Grand Finals.
[1:23] for Boxing Day test matches, and I know what to expect in the broadcast, in the crowd, in the game itself.
[1:29] But today, like many Australians, this is my first NFL game.
[1:35] So we are going to try and take you behind the scenes with a pass that I have here that has my name on it.
[1:41] Service level access is what it says.
[1:43] I don't know where that gets us.
[1:44] I don't know where that doesn't get us.
[1:46] And I am no expert in this field.
[1:49] I don't really watch NFL.
[1:50] I could probably name five players playing today.
[1:53] I think like a lot of the crowd, but there are a lot of passionate-looking San Francisco fans and Rams fans.
[2:00] So the idea is to take you behind the scenes, but I don't even know whether we can get behind the scenes.
[2:04] So you may never hear this, but welcome to the Melbourne Game Diaries.
[2:08] In what is a historic sporting event, the first NFL game in Melbourne.
[2:17] Right up.
[2:18] Wind back the clock a little bit.
[2:19] It's actually now 7am on the morning of the game.
[2:24] Lee Diffie, fans of Channel 10 Motorsport, will remember Diff, who's also been on the Howie Games.
[2:30] He's now a big-time commentator in America on motorsport, the Olympics, etc.
[2:36] He texted me yesterday.
[2:38] Howie, you've got to meet my man, Marv.
[2:40] He's running the whole TV show.
[2:42] So Marv is actually a dude called Matt Marvin, who I meant to call now, who is on his lunch break, apparently, to tell us something about this broadcast.
[2:54] I thought the dude's name was Marv.
[2:56] Thankfully, I did some Googling.
[2:57] His name's Matt, but we might go with Marv.
[3:00] But whether he answers or not, we'll find out.
[3:04] Let's give him a call.
[3:14] Hello, Mark.
[3:14] How are you doing, bro?
[3:16] Yeah, I'm good.
[3:16] I'm good, mate.
[3:17] How are you?
[3:17] Are you coming?
[3:18] Yeah, I got you.
[3:20] Good, man.
[3:20] Good, yeah.
[3:21] Let's get ready.
[3:22] Mate, I know how busy you are.
[3:24] Can you explain to me your role?
[3:26] Firstly, what are you doing today?
[3:28] What's your job?
[3:29] Sure, I'm the producer, the line producer of the show.
[3:33] So in a sense, I'm talking to our announcers, to our entire crew, guiding them in terms of which storylines we're gonna be hitting and working with the announcers on which replays we're gonna show and graphics
[3:44] things of that nature.
[3:45] I guess it's kind of like an offensive or defensive coordinator, you know, kind of call the plays and help the team execute.
[3:51] Hey, guys, remember, we're going to do this for a minute and a half.
[3:52] We're going to come back to a wide shot.
[3:55] So, camera five, why don't you widen out, please?
[3:59] Camera five, widen out, please.
[4:01] So, Marv, tell me some numbers because I've worked so many times at this fantastic ground on our local football and cricket, but I'd like to understand the scale of what you're doing.
[4:11] So, cameras.
[4:13] How many cameras have you got shooting this game today all up, do you reckon?
[4:25] Not all those cameras are manned.
[4:27] Some of them are just POV type cameras, but the total is somewhere in the low 50s.
[4:31] And how many staff would be working on the broadcast, Marv?
[4:35] Oh, geez.
[4:36] That is well over 100.
[4:37] Yeah, absolutely well over 100.
[4:39] It's a large crew.
[4:40] This is a huge undertaking.
[4:43] And how are you finding Melbourne?
[4:44] Like, how's the whole set up, the bump in?
[4:46] Like, it's an enormous operation to roll in in a short period of time and get this up on air.
[4:51] Oh my gosh, Howard.
[5:02] We're blessed to have what we think is going to be a beautiful weather day.
[5:04] So the city is so beautiful in the background.
[5:08] You know, we'll be using a shopper.
[5:10] We'll be using a drone to try to capture, you know, all the great stuff around the city.
[5:14] We've been sending camera folks out the past couple of days to get scenics throughout Victoria, not just Melbourne.
[5:21] But, yeah, we've been just thoroughly blown away by the city's hospitality.
[5:26] There seems to be great energy here.
[5:28] And the visuals of it are stunning.
[5:30] So we're looking forward to it.
[5:31] I can't get my head round, Marv, due to the fact this is going on Netflix.
[5:37] I can't get my head round how many people will see this one game of football around the planet and show off Melbourne, obviously.
[5:45] Yeah, that is kind of the answer.
[5:47] There's a really cool part about Netflix, which is what you just said, right?
[5:49] It's the mobile thing.
[6:04] I felt surely the ranch come in as the betting favorites for the Super Bowl and stars on both sides.
[6:10] So you couldn't ask for kind of a better setting with a better matchup.
[6:12] This is gonna be good.
[6:14] And are you stuck down under the car park near the railway yards down there, Marv, or where are you?
[6:19] Yeah, we kind of built this huge comp on literally and the train's going by right now.
[6:24] So we have to get right next to that railway that you just mentioned.
[6:27] And they built us a bunch of kind of cabines because
[6:38] built a beautiful facility for us and giving us all the tools that we need hopefully to put on a great show marv i'm disappointed i can't meet you in person mate but i appreciate you taking time out of your lunch break at 7 12 a.m or whatever weird times on your own hey good luck with the broadcast mate i'm sure you'll smash it howie thanks so much for calling like i said any friend of this is a friend of mine and uh i can't say it enough the people down here have been so awesome to us and the partnership with the folks like that
[7:08] Good on you, Marv.
[7:09] Smash it, mate.
[7:10] Take it easy.
[7:11] Appreciate it, buddy.
[7:12] Thank you.
[7:13] There we go.
[7:14] She's a big operation.
[7:16] It's a big operation.
[7:23] I'm looking for the media entrance.
[7:25] Media entrance just behind this bay.
[7:28] Behind here, around there?
[7:29] Yeah, and keep going.
[7:29] And what gate am I looking for?
[7:31] Keep going straight.
[7:31] You'll find the media.
[7:32] Okay, good man.
[7:34] So we...
[7:34] Right, first snag.
[7:36] Can't get into the normal entrance.
[7:37] Told you I've got no idea what's going on here today.
[7:40] In 1853, it's housed an incredible event.
[7:43] 1956 Summer Olympics, 1992 Cricket World Cup final.
[7:46] Of course, the AFL Grand Final, which will be taking place here in about two weeks.
[7:49] Okay, we're in.
[7:51] It's a different set-up, so typically you wander through the gates, but today there's a ring of steel set up about 100 metres back, meaning there is a gap between the stadium and where you enter, about 100 metres around the whole place, and there are activations, punters, excitement everywhere.
[8:09] This is...
[8:10] I can't actually believe I'm saying this.
[8:12] This feels...
[8:14] I don't want to get too carried away, but this feels like bigger than grand final day.
[8:17] How are you, guys?
[8:19] Cheers.
[8:19] I hang up on my wife.
[8:20] I hang up on her.
[8:21] You hang up on your wife?
[8:22] Yeah, because you.
[8:23] You're here.
[8:23] How's the day going to be, mate?
[8:25] Mate, oh, wait, I'm already too deep.
[8:26] Hey, I've got some ideas for you.
[8:27] What's your ideas?
[8:28] Minwoo.
[8:29] What's that?
[8:29] Minwoo in the lead up to the Masters.
[8:30] I've been trying to get Minwoo on.
[8:32] Pineapple's got no place on any hot food whatsoever.
[8:34] Oh, come on, mate.
[8:34] None, mate.
[8:35] None.
[8:35] I can't have it.
[8:36] Have a good day.
[8:37] I can't have it.
[8:37] I'd love to try, mate.
[8:38] Cheers.
[8:39] Thanks, guys.
[8:40] Yeah, absolutely.
[8:41] Oh, I'll give you a bit of a bit of a interview.
[8:43] Take me and Sonny's on.
[8:44] There we go.
[8:44] Cheers, guys.
[8:45] Enjoy the feed.
[8:45] Duh.
[8:46] Oh, well, there's a couple of Howie games.
[8:48] Let's just see.
[8:48] Now, what I was saying was it feels like it's bigger than grand final day.
[8:52] I'll try and get in the ground again.
[8:54] I don't know where this pass gets us, but we'll soon find out.
[8:56] So come along.
[9:00] Hello, mate.
[9:01] Is this a media entry?
[9:02] Yeah.
[9:03] Oh, perfect.
[9:04] Through this way?
[9:04] Yeah, this goes way too bad.
[9:06] And just kind of call over there.
[9:08] Good man.
[9:08] Thanks, mate.
[9:09] Have a good day.
[9:14] Righto, I'm in.
[9:16] I wandered into the Triple M commentary radio box and it was full of American dudes rolling out replays for the game.
[9:23] But this is my first sight of the field and it's so obvious, but it looks like we're in America.
[9:31] I've seen the MCG in so many different guises, but nothing like this.
[9:35] The Rams, signage on the ground at one end, the 49ers at the other.
[9:40] So from the boundary, it's probably about...
[9:44] It'd be a good 50 metres from the boundary to the sideline of the NFL field.
[9:50] But now I've wandered way up the back.
[9:54] And you don't feel too far away.
[9:56] Bizarre to see the MCG in all red and blue and yellow.
[10:01] But it's like we've been transported to Los Angeles or San Francisco.
[10:07] It's fantastic.
[10:09] Like, super cool.
[10:10] Melbourne sounds like... Touchdown Rams!
[10:12] The Niners lead!
[10:14] Triple M sounds like...
[10:15] It is going to be one of the best atmospheres in the entire NFL season.
[10:20] The Niners.
[10:20] Triple M's got it.
[10:22] Triple M. San Francisco.
[10:24] Come on into Australia.
[10:26] Sounds like Melbourne.
[10:27] I'm here with the boss of Triple M Football, you and Giles.
[10:31] Giles, we're nearly at the back of the MCG, but you just told me my man Nathan Brown and my man Damian Barrett and myself have to do some form of introduction on air.
[10:40] So it's a day of many surprises.
[10:42] What's happening?
[10:42] So you are going to be the first ever voices of Triple M NFL.
[10:45] I really hope you don't stuff it up.
[10:46] I did not know this.
[10:47] So how does the set-up go today?
[10:49] So what's going to happen?
[10:49] So we're going to be on air at 10 o'clock for a 10.35 kick-off.
[10:52] Okay.
[10:52] We're going to recap a couple of interviews from during the week on Triple M. Right.
[10:56] And then we're going to take the Westwood One NFL call team.
[10:58] The Westwood One boys?
[10:59] Yes.
[11:00] So we're going global with Ryan Radke on play-by-play.
[11:02] Okay.
[11:03] And pro football Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce on special comments.
[11:06] How do we get down and meet Isaac and Ryan and find out what they're all about?
[11:09] We take about three lefts, four elevators and six sets of stairs.
[11:12] We'll see you soon down there.
[11:13] Now, this pass you've kindly provided.
[11:15] As I walked in, I said we're going behind the scenes, but does this pass have the ability to go behind the scenes?
[11:20] It does.
[11:20] Every number has a meaning, Howie.
[11:21] One, three, four, five.
[11:23] It's restricted areas.
[11:24] Right.
[11:24] So basically, other than taking the kickoff, which I think Damo is doing for us, you can go anywhere.
[11:29] Fantastic.
[11:30] Right.
[11:30] We're on the broadcast.
[11:31] Let's roll.
[11:31] 105.1 Triple M. We are heading inside now with the Friday Huddle team and then you're going to get the Westwood One call of the game.
[11:39] We cannot wait.
[11:40] 49ers taking on the LA Rams.
[11:42] You'll hear it all live right here on Melbourne's 105.1 Triple M. Go 49ers.
[11:47] Well, there's the first real twist.
[11:48] I didn't actually anticipate the fact we were on air with two NFL experts, Damian Barrett and Nathan Brown.
[11:55] Boys, did I miss the email?
[11:57] I didn't actually understand, mate, we were on air today.
[12:00] I thought I was coming as a punter.
[12:01] Normally that's what you have a producer for.
[12:03] Right.
[12:04] And a big-nosed producer, forgotten to mention we're doing 20 minutes of a game we don't know a lot about.
[12:09] I know George Kittle from watching the receiver show.
[12:15] and Purdy, and that's it.
[12:17] Yep.
[12:18] What about you?
[12:19] Well, you know about as much as me.
[12:20] Right.
[12:20] And lucky we didn't have that beer on the way in.
[12:23] This is just a day melt 9.30 in the morning because now we've got to actually talk.
[12:27] So now we have got the Joe Montana of Triple M football.
[12:32] Damon Barrett is cast in the role of NFL expert because you've seen how many games live?
[12:37] I'm probably 30 or 40 over my life, Howie.
[12:40] But you do love it.
[12:41] Oh, I love it.
[12:41] I've been loving it since the late 80s, basically.
[12:44] But I tell you what, this elevation where we are right now for this call is probably as good a seat as there is in the house.
[12:49] I was just saying, it's like we've walked into an American stadium.
[12:53] That's how different the MCG looks, mate.
[12:56] It does have that feel, and there'll be some people who probably have paid more money for seats closer to the action that won't have the good elevation that we've got.
[13:04] Brownie's right.
[13:05] We just thought we would have a little morning beer, which is unusual, but we thought we'd just soak up the atmosphere.
[13:09] I got a text from you to say, hey guys, come up to Q40.
[13:12] You're on air.
[13:14] Well, I got a message saying, make sure you're here by 10 o'clock.
[13:17] Yeah.
[13:17] But I didn't understand why, Nathan, but now I do.
[13:19] Yeah, we're on air.
[13:20] Right, so the three of us, the inaugural Triple M broadcast, we're going to bring Sizzle with a capital S like our American brothers.
[13:26] Well, I can talk about some of the players, Howie.
[13:29] You create the colour.
[13:30] And what's Nate doing?
[13:30] I don't know what Brownie's going to do.
[13:32] Is Torell Allen still playing at all?
[13:33] Okay, let's bring it.
[13:37] And now, Melbourne and the MCG are the home.
[13:40] That is hell.
[13:46] of the NFL.
[13:47] The NFL.
[13:47] Love-Worn Australia.
[13:49] The 49ers.
[13:49] The Rams.
[13:50] Live from the Triple MCG.
[13:51] That's a connection.
[13:53] Triple F. What's that?
[13:56] Rocks the NFL.
[13:59] History-making day at the MCG and Melbourne and the G. I tell you what, it has never looked better.
[14:05] It is a crisp spring morning.
[14:07] The crowds have come from everywhere.
[14:10] It's like we've been transported into an American city and an American stadium.
[14:15] The ground is laid out in front of us.
[14:16] There's probably 50 metres from the boundary line to the touchline on both sides.
[14:20] But it is a truly epic scene.
[14:22] I never thought I'd say this, but welcome along as Triple M rocks the NFL.
[14:28] Extraordinary scenes here.
[14:30] Mark Howard with you and my two experts beside me.
[14:33] Damien Barrett and Nathan Brown.
[14:34] Before I get to them, you've only got us for half an hour.
[14:38] Okay, so as I said, we didn't know what was coming.
[14:40] Didn't expect to be starting the broadcast of the game on the wireless.
[14:44] So there's a 50-metre by 40-metre American flag in the middle of the MCG.
[14:50] There's a huge NFL logo.
[14:52] And you're currently listening to the American national anthem.
[14:56] Bizarre but brilliant.
[15:10] Now, do the big job of sending the Australian anthem, as you're about to hear.
[15:15] Our man Cody Simpson, swimmer and rock star, and getting a reception of one.
[15:22] Come on, Cody, tear it up.
[15:35] Oh, Cody went for a second, dosed the hand and nailed it in front of our Netflix global audience.
[15:41] Choose your number.
[15:42] I don't know what it is, but our man Cody delivered on the big stage.
[15:48] You're listening to Westwood One's Call of the NFL on Triple M. Along with our engineer, the great Raul Vler, producer Aaron Cummins, the Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce, Ryan Ratke here in Melbourne, Australia, as we get set for the first ever NFL game down under.
[16:03] Ryan, I've got one question for you as a broadcaster.
[16:07] All the players.
[16:09] How much time does it take to learn all the players?
[16:11] We've got 18 on the NFL.
[16:12] Yeah.
[16:15] You guys have got 50 plus.
[16:16] How do you go with that?
[16:17] I pretty much spend all week, to be honest with you.
[16:19] I do a little bit each day, and that's just, I just do, every day, I just do a little bit.
[16:25] That's kind of what works for me.
[16:26] I start on Monday, and I go through Friday.
[16:28] All right, five seconds.
[16:29] You got to go.
[16:30] Stand by.
[16:31] Go for it.
[16:31] You got work to do.
[16:33] Thanks, man.
[16:34] All right, the 49ers won the toss.
[16:35] They deferred their option to the second half, so the Rams will receive Jordan Whittington and Xavier Smith back deep to return the kickoff.
[16:50] Darren Williams right up the middle for the touchdown.
[16:58] There we go.
[16:59] First touchdown on Australian soil.
[17:01] Called by our man Ryan, who, as you heard, has spent all week figuring out who the players are.
[17:06] And our man Ryan, when this game finishes, he jumps on a plane because on Sunday night in America, he has to call Sunday night football on the East Coast.
[17:17] He is earning his money.
[17:19] Eddie Pinheiro with the PAT.
[17:21] He moves it through.
[17:23] And the 49er lead is three.
[17:25] San Francisco on top 10-7.
[17:27] You're listening to the NFL from Down Under on Westwood Walls.
[17:36] So that shows offense and defense.
[17:38] Yeah.
[17:38] And he flips it over and it's offense and defense.
[17:41] So normally what the spotter does is on a defense, if there's a tackle, he'll point to whoever made the tackle.
[17:48] If there's an interception, he'll point to whoever made the interception.
[17:50] So the spotter's next to Ryan, helping him with player identification.
[17:55] Yes.
[17:56] Usually...
[17:57] We're a little compact.
[17:58] Usually there's a statistician there who does his running stats.
[18:04] Normally the spotter will stand behind the announcer and point over.
[18:11] Aaron is kind of also helping out with status.
[18:13] Got it.
[18:14] Ryan's also pretty good at this stuff.
[18:16] Some announcers will take a lot of the action off of a monitor.
[18:19] Yep.
[18:20] Ryan is always looking at the field.
[18:21] Close the line, yeah?
[18:22] Yeah, so that's his depth chart.
[18:25] And the little boxes have their number, their position, right on the lawn.
[18:30] Usually they have notes on it.
[18:32] Ryan does a pretty realistic board.
[18:35] Some guys do big boards.
[18:37] There's actually a whole industry where people make boards for announcers.
[18:42] This is what I need in Australia.
[18:43] I need someone to do this for me.
[18:45] You guys have got guys that do it professionally.
[18:47] Yeah.
[18:47] All the nodes.
[18:48] Yeah.
[18:50] So what they'll do is they'll do someone's boards and they'll email it to them.
[18:57] And the guys go to FedEx where they have the local copy and they'll print them out.
[19:03] You guys are bigger and better at everything.
[19:04] Thanks for the explanation, mate.
[19:07] So a bit of that explanation.
[19:09] So our man we just heard from calling Ryan, he's got a guy next to him with binoculars, the spotter.
[19:16] So if you missed that, the spotter points to the players just so Ryan can make sure with all the numbers out there that he's got the right defensive and right offensive guys that he's calling.
[19:32] Hey, guys, how are you?
[19:33] Good.
[19:34] Yeah, good.
[19:34] Thank you.
[19:35] Thank you.
[19:40] You just heard, no worries.
[19:42] So we are now, well, sideline.
[19:45] So I'm standing three metres behind the sidelines, and it's a completely different perspective of the game.
[19:54] I'm not going to hang around here too long and bang on because I think I might get yanked at any moment.
[19:58] But when you see this game at ground level, there's obviously the size.
[20:04] Like the linemen defensive, just enormous, 180, 190 kilos.
[20:11] You can hear the hits at this level, like the crunching.
[20:16] Well, you can hear it at the AFL, but they're bigger crunches.
[20:18] But the main thing that is evident from this level is the quarterback that's...
[20:25] as talent comes to the forefront because from the same height as the quarterback, there's just so many things running in front of him, people coming at him, routes being blocked, blokes running one way then the other.
[20:37] To pinpoint passes through that, that is what you see down here at ground level.
[20:42] It's just the skill of the quarterback.
[20:45] And that will bring a close to the first half here in Melbourne.
[20:49] The 49ers will go to the locker room with a 10-7 lead...
[20:55] Righto, half-time.
[20:57] The Jonas Brothers.
[20:58] It's not an enormous production, but we'll see how they go.
[21:01] For mine, the high watermark that I've been lucky enough to see at half-time at the G has been Robbie Williams.
[21:06] Snoop was good.
[21:07] The low watermark was obviously the meatloaf debacle.
[21:10] So let's see where the Jonas Brothers fit in that scale.
[21:14] I'm sure they'll bring it.
[21:26] pulling out a Johnny Varnham classic who's got the MCG up and about.
[21:30] I think they'll be well remembered for doing You're the Voice.
[21:36] Well played.
[21:37] Purdy back in the shotgun here on second down at eight.
[21:40] Kalon Black motions out to the left.
[21:42] Shotgun snap.
[21:43] Purdy back.
[21:43] Looking left.
[21:44] Has time.
[21:45] Stutters his feet.
[21:45] Now moving to his right.
[21:46] He throws toward the end zone.
[21:48] Caught.
[21:48] Touchdown, 49ers.
[21:50] It's Devo Samuel.
[21:52] Welcome back to the bay.
[21:54] Samuel pulls it in to give the 49ers a 23-7 lead here in the fourth quarter in Melbourne.
[22:02] Another touchdown for San Francisco, so we're into the final quarter.
[22:07] It's almost as much of a concert as a sport.
[22:14] In the last three hours, obviously there's Sweet Caroline going around the stadium now.
[22:18] We've seen the cheerleaders.
[22:20] We've seen some legends paraded out.
[22:22] This was in the game during the breaks.
[22:24] We've seen the servicemen and women that flew over the stadium.
[22:30] There is a lot of breaks in play where there's just pumping noise around the stadium.
[22:37] like now.
[22:38] So it's part sport, part concert, but it works.
[22:44] She's even a good sport to advertise on though with all the breaks.
[22:46] I guess that's why it generates so much revenue.
[22:50] There you go.
[22:54] By the way, a big hello to our local listeners on Triple M, 105.1 FM here in Melbourne.
[23:03] Great to have you guys along.
[23:04] Boyer City has been a fantastic host for all of us coming in for this game.
[23:09] All right, the final score from here in Melbourne.
[23:15] 49ers win it in dominating fashion, 27-7.
[23:19] You're listening to the NFL on Westwood One.
[23:23] Okay, so I'm not sure how we are in the winning 49ers rooms.
[23:29] That music is from the biggest stereo system I've ever seen, which is George Kittle.
[23:36] one of the stars of the San Francisco 49ers walking around.
[23:40] We might try and grab George for a chat in a moment.
[23:42] If you've seen the receiver series, you've seen George.
[23:44] But the access is extraordinary.
[23:48] You would not see this in the AFL.
[23:50] So the first thing you notice down here is the change rooms have been completely redesigned.
[23:54] So the lockers are twice as wide.
[23:56] I've been told the doors were made a touch wider down here because they are such big boys.
[24:01] And there's just a series of...
[24:04] enormous men walking around in towels with big smiles on their faces, trying to figure out how they're getting out of the MCG and they're getting home.
[24:13] These blokes passing you by that are worth $50 million a year.
[24:19] I haven't seen a scene like it in sport where the access is as open as this, where you can just roll in and grab blokes and ask them about the game.
[24:26] But happy days.
[24:29] Extraordinary.
[24:30] Extraordinary.
[24:31] George, Mark Howard, Friday Huddle.
[24:33] What did you think of the game, the experience?
[24:36] Congratulations to you and your team.
[24:37] It was great to have you here, mate.
[24:38] Extraordinary, really.
[24:40] I had a great time.
[24:41] What an atmosphere, too.
[24:42] The stadium was great.
[24:44] Honestly, I just really enjoyed being here the whole week and just kind of being in Melbourne the entire week, waking up at 5 a.m., going to get coffee at some nice coffee shops, just kind of being in the culture.
[24:55] It was a great time.
[24:56] And then today's atmosphere was so much fun.
[24:57] We had a blast.
[24:59] I think you need to go somewhere, yeah, but just to let you go, the whole experience in Melbourne.
[25:03] You've come here, you've had a big win.
[25:05] You've been embraced by the people.
[25:06] We've loved having you here.
[25:07] Have you found it?
[25:09] It's just been such a great time, and I'm sorry I didn't score because I wanted to hit my Jai Arrow on my bow.
[25:16] I tried to, but hey, next time we come out here, we'll be back.
[25:19] Appreciate your time.
[25:20] Well done.
[25:20] Travel safe.
[25:21] Thank you so much.
[25:22] George Kittle, Friday Huddle.
[25:23] You guys got a shoeie for me?
[25:25] DeMarcus Robinson, welcome to the Friday Huddle.
[25:28] Spectacular experience for us in the crowd, 100 plus thousand.
[25:31] What was the life for you?
[25:32] Congratulations to you and your team, mate.
[25:34] I appreciate it.
[25:34] It was amazing, man, to come out and see the atmosphere.
[25:36] A lot of eyes came out.
[25:38] We heard and we felt the energy in the crowd.
[25:40] We appreciate everybody coming out and showing us love, man.
[25:42] It was amazing.
[25:43] Before you came to Australia, now you've been in Australia a week, how has it been different, Marcus, to what you potentially expected the city and the country to be?
[25:51] Well, I really thought it was going to be like a lot of bugs, a lot of snakes and kangaroos and just jumping around.
[25:57] You had any bugs or snakes, mate?
[25:58] No, no, I haven't seen any bugs, any snakes.
[26:00] I did go to the country a little bit and I seen some kangaroos out there, so it was pretty cool.
[26:04] Friday Huddle welcomes a legend of the NFL, Hall of Famer, San Francisco 49 superstar Jerry Rice.
[26:10] Jerry, welcome to Melbourne.
[26:11] You've just seen your team in a dominant display.
[26:14] Great to speak to.
[26:15] What did you think?
[26:16] Yeah, you know, 27 to 7, I think the Niners came out and they played their ball game.
[26:22] You know, they pretty much took over the game.
[26:24] And the thing is...
[26:26] With this team, if we can stay healthy, I believe actually that we could be in Super Bowl 61.
[26:33] But it's all about staying healthy.
[26:35] And whenever you got a rival in your division, you want to make a statement.
[26:39] And I think they did that today.
[26:41] Not saying that other team is not a good team and we're going to have to face them down the road again.
[26:45] But, you know, they came out today and they played their best football.
[26:48] The differing approaches to the game, 49ers here for a week, Rams here for 24 hours.
[26:53] What did that do to the game?
[26:56] I just feel like, you know, for us, we wanted to come here and, you know, the players have been out in the community.
[27:02] We've been out there with the fans doing everything.
[27:04] And I think that engagement and all of that, you know, we won a lot of the fan base over.
[27:10] With the Rams, they decided to do it a different way.
[27:12] They decided to come in the day before.
[27:15] I'm not saying I don't know...
[27:18] If by us coming in early, that helped us get an acclimated and all of that stuff.
[27:24] But there have been certain studies.
[27:26] And I think with the Rams, they felt like they had a better chance if they had just came in the day before.
[27:31] And what did you think of the great Melbourne cricket ground?
[27:34] I love that.
[27:35] I love that.
[27:37] I would have killed just to be on that football field again, man.
[27:40] And being in front of 100,000 fans and all of that.
[27:44] I was so impressed, man, because it's like being here in Australia.
[27:49] And being able to see people wearing my jersey, you know, do you realize how special that is?
[27:55] Because, you know, I never thought of myself as being a celebrity or anything like that.
[28:00] But when you see that, you know, from another country and stuff like that, I made sure early that I would get out there and I would sign and do signatures, take pictures and do all those things.
[28:12] Just giving the love back and let them know that, hey, I really appreciate them supporting us.
[28:18] Just before we let you go, Jerry, we're on radio, but radio is video these days.
[28:22] You have a chain with a San Francisco's Diamante helmet on, which looks a million dollars.
[28:28] Tell me about that.
[28:28] It's a nice bling.
[28:29] No, what happened is, you know, I would go to the stadium, Levi's Stadium.
[28:34] I would take pictures.
[28:35] I would sign autographs.
[28:36] And I had a fan to actually give me this.
[28:39] Wow.
[28:39] Wow.
[28:40] And, you know, out of the appreciation of just, you know, signing autographs and taking pictures.
[28:45] And I've been wearing it ever since.
[28:47] And it's like one of those things.
[28:50] It's just for good luck.
[28:51] Well, you're looking a million bucks.
[28:52] We appreciate you joining us on the Friday.
[28:54] Have a safe trip home.
[28:55] I'm glad you enjoyed Australia.
[28:56] Thank you so much.
[28:57] I'm looking forward to coming back.
[28:58] And I'm also looking forward to coming back as the home team.
[29:02] There you go.
[29:03] There you go.
[29:03] It's a guarantee.
[29:04] Good on you, Jerry.
[29:11] Fair day.
[29:12] It is 4.58pm.
[29:14] The game finished a few hours ago.
[29:16] San Francisco will go home as winners.
[29:18] I'm sure there'll be a lot of analysed about one team travelling a week early and winning and one team travelling 24 hours before and losing.
[29:25] But I guess you've got to take into account what happens next week when the two sides play.
[29:30] Overall thoughts, a brilliant spectacle.
[29:34] One, I'm amazed by the access to the athletes and the warmth and ability for the athletes to open up and talk to people that they've never met before in a really friendly, encompassing way.
[29:45] That was outstanding.
[29:47] The game itself, first NFL game, you appreciate the skill of the quarterback and why he gets paid as much as he does to pinpoint your way through all that.
[29:57] Males from heading at you when you see it from ground level was extraordinary.
[30:00] A lot of breaks in the game.
[30:03] It's a wonderful game for advertisers.
[30:04] A lot of breaks in the game, but they fill it with, as I mentioned earlier on, music, singing, dancing.
[30:11] When people complain about the AFL music after goals, this was music nonstop in every single break.
[30:17] But it was entertainment.
[30:19] It was high voltage.
[30:20] It was high octane.
[30:22] You never had a moment to sit down and relax because there was always something happening, even when the game wasn't happening.
[30:29] And the third thought was Melbourne was at its best.
[30:31] As a jam goes by, the sun was shining.
[30:34] However many hundreds of millions of people have seen that on Netflix and thought, yep, Melbourne looks like a great place to go.
[30:40] So a wonderful boon for the city.
[30:43] Would I come back again if it was here next year?
[30:45] 100%.
[30:45] Hope you enjoyed it.
[30:46] Probably got more behind the scenes than we expected to, to be honest.
[30:49] Didn't think we'd be out in the ground or in the rooms, but there you go.
[30:52] Hope you enjoyed it.
[30:53] More Howie games coming your way this Wednesday with the second of our Millionaires Club member, Brendan Favola.
[31:03] That's it.

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