NFL Fans Are Already Complaining About The League’s “Gross” Scheduling Decision For 2026 Season
NFL fans wanted Thursday night, but Roger Goodell got them a Wednesday instead. The 2026 season opens with New England at Seattle at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. The Super Bowl rematch sits on a school night because Australia ate Thursday.
The Rams and 49ers play Friday morning in Melbourne. That is Thursday night in the United States. Netflix has the game at 8:35 p.m. ET. The league slid Kickoff Night forward one day so both windows could live.
This is the first Wednesday opener since 2012. That year, the league moved the Cowboys and Giants for a presidential speech. Before that, Wednesday openers barely existed after 1948. Tradition lost again.
The replies came fast.
“The NFL season starting on a Wednesday is still lame,” one fan wrote.
The NFL season starting on a Wednesday is still fucking lame
— kody (@ohitskody) September 7, 2026
Connor Griffin of Barstool said he “absolutely can’t stand” the kickoff date.
I’m sure it’s probably been said a million times by now, but I absolutely can’t stand how the NFL season is kicking off on a Wednesday
— Connor Griffin (@RealCGriff) September 8, 2026
Another fan called Wednesday football “gross,” adding that the league is “on the verge of overplaying their hand chasing that international love.”
NFL football on a Wednesday is gross. Feels like they're on the verge of overplaying their hand chasing that international love that will *never* *EVER* take off like they want to. For a lot of reasons.
— Double Entendre 3000 (@LebronJamesBond) September 9, 2026
“NFL having their first game onna Wednesday is stupid can’t convince me otherwise,” another wrote.
NFL having their first game onna Wednesday is stupid can’t convince me otherwise
— H U N C H O (@HunchoGambles) September 9, 2026
NFL Fans See International Growth, Not a Better Week
Roger Goodell already said Australia is not a one-off. The league scheduled nine international games this season. Melbourne is the first regular-season stop on that continent. Local TV still carries the NFC West game in the two home markets. Everyone else needs Netflix.
The Australia opener also cost San Francisco a true home start. Kyle Shanahan has grumbled about the travel and the Rams’ role in picking the opponent. Players crossed the date line and lost a calendar day on the flight.
Labor Day landed late this year. That blocked a Friday international slot under the Sports Broadcasting Act. So the Super Bowl rematch jumped to Wednesday. NFL fans did not vote on that math. They just inherited it.
NFL Fans Still Get a Full Tribute Week After the Odd Start
The calendar is crowded for other reasons. Week 1 also marks the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11. The league planned Never Forget tributes across every game, including the Melbourne pregame.
Seattle hosts the defending champs. Mike Vrabel coaches his first regular-season game since a messy offseason. That rematch would have owned Thursday in a normal year. Instead, it shares the week with a 16-hour flight and a cricket ground.
There is another Wednesday later. Green Bay visits the Rams on Thanksgiving Eve. NFL fans who hated tonight get a second test in November.
The product still looks like the NFL. The night does not. Wednesday football used to mean a fluke. Now it means Melbourne needed the airwaves. The league will count the ratings, while the replies already told it the vibe.
NFL Fans Are Already Complaining About The League’s “Gross” Scheduling Decision For 2026 Season
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