{"id":8631,"date":"2026-09-07T11:36:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T11:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8631"},"modified":"2026-09-07T11:36:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T11:36:30","slug":"inman-down-under-handshake-agreement-gets-49ers-into-week-1-mode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8631","title":{"rendered":"Inman Down Under: Handshake agreement gets 49ers into Week 1 mode"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MELBOURNE, Australia \u2013 Fred Warner stepped off the media podium and chuckled when shown a photo of something that caught my eye at the start of Monday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n

Read more Ro Khanna weighs 2028 presidential run built on economic populism<\/a><\/p>\n

Warner and running back Christian McCaffrey, two pillars of the 49ers\u2019 enterprise, have a pre-practice ritual that resembles a strongman contest.<\/p>\n

As other teammates shake hands and form a circle, Warner and McCaffrey stop in their tracks, grip their right hands together \u2026 and hold \u2026 and hold \u2026 and stare at each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing it for a while, and maybe it\u2019s gotten more pronounced,\u201d Warner told me outside the press conference room at AAMI Park. \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018You\u2019ve got to go out and prove you\u2019re the best every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

At last, the regular season is here. Macho men hyping themselves up is a welcome sight, especially for my tired eyes that keep waking up at 4:30 a.m.; 49ers legend Patrick Willis told me that early wake-up is a common plight for many others in this traveling party.<\/p>\n

Monday marked the first media session here, the first chance to pull a player aside to confirm any observations and ask for insights, without locker-room access we\u2019d normally have back home.<\/p>\n

Warner and McCaffrey preceded Mike Evans as the 49ers\u2019 spokesmen at the first media session here, four days before the historic season opener against the Los Angeles Rams at Melbourne Cricket Ground.<\/p>\n

Warner\u2019s last full game last season was against the Rams, an Oct. 2 overtime win at SoFi Stadium. He broke his right ankle the next week at Tampa Bay and was done for the season.<\/p>\n

Read more Los Gatos High celebrates 10-year relationship with Japanese sister school<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t really had to think about my leg and everything that happened last year,\u201d Warner said. \u201cI\u2019ve just been acting as if it\u2019s the next one. This game coming up is the next one for me. I don\u2019t know what those emotions will be the day of the game. But I\u2019m expecting it to be business as usual: go out there, be the best player I can for my team so we can get a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

AAMI Park has a \u201cgreat surface,\u201d Warner said of the natural grass on a rectangular field that otherwise hosts rugby league and soccer matches.<\/p>\n

Next door is Olympic Park, a training ground for the 1956 Olympics, and across the street is Rod Laver Arena, home of the Australian Open tennis championships. But directly across Melbourne\u2019s train tracks is \u201cThe G,\u201d where 100,000 fans will pack in for the 49ers-Rams rivalry and the majority of which will be 49ers Faithful. \u201cThe hope is it\u2019s a sea of red. That\u2019s what the hope always is,\u201d Warner added.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

FOOD COURT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Evans said the most pleasant surprise about Australia is its food. \u201cI thought it was going to be bad, honestly, but it\u2019s been pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ditto. My hesitations have been wiped away with a great Italian dinner one night, and then pan-Asian cuisine the next night at Chin Chin, a spot so hip that 49ers and Rams executives were eating there \u2013 at separate tables.<\/p>\n

However, with the 49ers\u2019 access afoot Monday, time constraints resulted in an All-C diet until dinner: Coffee, croissants, cookies and chips.<\/p>\n

I hit bucket-list stops from my Instagram research: Bobby Stop Stealing Our Camping Chairs (for a classic Aussie flat white), Lune for croissants (chocolate was better than the traditional), and, Patricia (for another flat white). At the 49ers\u2019 practice facility, the media was treated to cookies, chips and water. The beer taps were locked, so my fix for a Balter XPA would be delayed until after work.<\/p>\n

Read more Horoscopes September 7, 2026: Shannon Elizabeth, don\u2019t hang on to the past<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fred Warner and Christian McCaffrey fire each up before practices with an excessively firm handshake as the 49ers’ season approaches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nInman Down Under: Handshake agreement gets 49ers into Week 1 mode - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8631\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inman Down Under: Handshake agreement gets 49ers into Week 1 mode - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fred Warner and Christian McCaffrey fire each up before practices with an excessively firm handshake as the 49ers' season approaches.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8631\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-07T11:36:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8631#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8631\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Inman Down Under: Handshake agreement gets 49ers into Week 1 mode\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-07T11:36:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8631\"},\"wordCount\":651,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8631#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/bacd100a3f1f3aea968708fc18dd4c95.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8631#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8631\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8631\",\"name\":\"Inman Down Under: Handshake agreement gets 49ers into Week 1 mode - 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