This time, it came in the form of a compliment.
49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey revealed a funny “Welcome to Australia” moment he encountered this week in the lead-up to Thursday’s 27-7 win over the Rams in Melbourne that centered around a derogatory term in The States that carries quite a different meaning in The Outback.
“I was getting a haircut a few days ago and one of the barbers looks at me and says, ‘Looks cracker,’” McCaffrey said as teammate George Kittle chuckled after the blowout win. “I said, ‘Sorry, what did you say?’ I didn’t know what it meant, I guess that means it looks good. But that was funny.
“He said it again, I said, ‘Dude, I hear that every Sunday.’ That was good, we had a good moment. I enjoy all the slang.”
For those not versed in Australian slang, McCaffrey is indeed correct that “cracker” is another way to describe something in a positive way in that culture.
Charles Stuart University has a guide of “Aussie Slang” that describes “cracker” as meaning “great,” with the example: “What a cracker of a day.”
The word has a different meaning among Americans, often used in a negative way to describe white people, which explains McCaffrey’s surprise at hearing the term.
That story seemingly will stick with McCaffrey from this unique journey to Australia in which the 49ers downed the Rams in the NFL’s first game on the continent.
McCaffrey, 30, began his 10th season Thursday night with a ho-hum performance by his standards, tallying 88 total yards on 15 combined touches.
After a limited preseason due to “tightness,” there had been some questions about how the team would employ him in this first game considering his injury history.
Backup Kaelon Black actually had more carries with 14 attempts to McCaffrey’s 10, although the elder statesmen finished with 68 yards to the rookie’s 65.
McCaffrey also hauled in five catches for 20 yards.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said McCaffrey dealt with some cramps during the game.
“I thought they (McCaffrey and Black) both ran really hard and really well,” Shanahan said. “That was the goal for us coming into this, trying to balance it out more…”
McCaffrey and the 49ers will now have three extra days of rest — while adjusting to the massive time change for a second time — before their home opener Sept. 20 against the Dolphins.
“I thought everybody came to play,” McCaffrey said. “Did a great job managing the week and an exciting win.”
