Super Bowl LIX Champions, the Seattle Seahawks, are set to kick off first in the 2026 NFL season, followed by a first-ever overseas game. However, the latest announcement on the NFL’s grand world trotter schedule has left fans feeling anything but joy.

On Thursday, in an X post, NFL expert Adam Schefter reported that the 2026 NFL regular season will commence on a Wednesday in Seattle. And the San Francisco 49ers will play against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.

“The 2026 NFL regular season will kick off Wednesday Sept. 9 at 8:20 p.m. ET in Seattle with the Super Bowl LX champion Seahawks.

The San Francisco 49ers will face the Los Angeles Rams in the first-ever NFL regular season game in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday, Sept. 10 at approximately 8:35 p.m. ET at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground,” Schefter wrote.

This news has certainly fired up fans, but not for the expected reasons. The football community has been in an uproar against the overseas games for a while now. But the latest and never-before-done “Wednesday night football” kickoff has set off a chain of angry reactions.

“Why is opening season on Wednesday?? The game is gone lol” a fan wrote, sharing their confusion and disbelief over the Seahawks game. It was followed by another comment that just laughed the entire thing off. 

“Opening the season on a Wednesday lmao.”

The Seahawks won last season in an easy 29-13 game against the New England Patriots on 8 February. Kenneth Walker III emerged as MVP of the game, while Jason Myers displayed one of the best performances by a placekicker in NFL history. 

That day, the Santa Clara stadium in California was buzzing with football fans who stepped out in the biting cold to watch their beloved game. And now these fans feel robbed by the league as they will miss out on watching games at home. 

Keeping their humor intact, one X user shared a world map overpowered by a big red arrow between the USA and Australia and commented on how far fans have to travel on Thursday. 

“Can’t believe they’re making Seattle and San Fran travel this far SMH,” the caption read. 

The 49ers and the Rams are facing off on Thursday, a day after the kickoff of their first-ever game in Australia. And this prompted another hilarious remark from a fan. 

“gotta love when football goes down under like a kangaroo looking for trouble at halftime,” they wrote.

Despite the surface-level hilarious or curt reactions, fans are deeply troubled by the league’s decisions over the overseas game.

Fans in America Are Losing Out Because the NFL Attempts to Globalize Football

One fan dished out their anger at the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, for turning his back on American football fans in favor of the game's supposed “global growth.”

“NFL prioritizing cash over fans again. Wednesday opener in Seattle and flying two teams to Australia for "global growth"? This league is turning into a greedy circus. Traditional Thursday kickoff was sacred, now it's all about international money grabs and screwing the schedule. What happened to the game we loved?” 

In February, Goodell announced that the league is vying to create a global presence and increase its viewership. The increased overseas games to globalize the NFL was one-half of his major decision. In America, upon receiving the Department of Justice’s approval, cable service ESPN took control of NFL Network and its other assets. 

Fans were upset then, and they are even more upset now. Is Goodell losing sight of the game with his decisions? What are your thoughts?

Read more at the Cleveland Browns Community.

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Joyita Das