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'Aunty' Joy Wandin Murphy delivers a welcome-to-country during a July 7 sporting match in Melbourne, Australia. (Daniel Pockett / Getty Images)

NFL Begins Game with Woke Land Acknowledgement by Another Name

By Michael Schwarz September 11, 2026 at 1:20pm

Not often does one waste sympathy on a professional sports team with a $300 million payroll.

Still, you had to feel sorry for the jet-lagged Los Angeles Rams ahead of their season-opener Friday morning in Australia.

After all, having opted for a foolish travel schedule that saw them arrive in Melbourne only 28 hours before kickoff, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Rams’ players and coaches — not to mention their opponents, the San Francisco 49ers, as well as the 100,021 in attendance and millions more watching on Netflix — had to endure the indescribable tedium associated with Australia’s version of the woke land acknowledgement.

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Michael Schwarz

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Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.