Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers play season-opening game in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (NBC, KYMA) - The Los Angeles Ram and San Francisco 49ers play their season-opening game at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground Australia Thursday night U.S. time.

This is a big moment in NFL history to be playing in Australia, and not a preseason or friendly game, but a regular season matchup between two powerhouse teams in one of the league's toughest divisions.

Australians are stoked to see American-style football, the technical approach to the game, the big hits.

They're also curious to see how jet lag factors onto the field. With each team taking a very different approach to their sleep strategies, the 49ers chartered a plane to arrive eight days ago.

They've been adjusting to the 17-hour time difference over the course of the week, and also doing a lot of community events.

Meanwhile, the Rams arrived just one day before the big game, trying to keep with their circadian rhythm and keeping their body clocks on U.S. time.

NBC News heard a lot over the past few days about the importance of promoting the NFL brand here as well as the team brands here,

With the game just hours away, both teams are now locking in, and it'll be all about taking care of business on the field.