Noah Eagle Credit: Netflix, Kirby Lee-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
By Matt Yoder on

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The NFL staged its first-ever game in Australia as the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams visited Melbourne to play at the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Netflix exclusively streamed the game, which meant the debut of broadcast pairing Noah Eagle and Luke Kuechly.

Kuechly, a former Carolina Panthers linebacker, starred in his lead analyst debut. Eagle, of course, is one of the fastest rising stars in the industry. At the young age of 29, he has already had plenty of primetime assignments across the NFL, college football, the NBA, and the Olympics.

But on this Netflix broadcast, there was something that may have struck all the fans back home as a bit odd coming from the younger Eagle.

His pronunciation of Melbourne.

Throughout the entire game, Noah Eagle was very particular and emphatic in calling the Victorian capital “Mel-bin,” which is decidedly different than how any American would say it.

But if you thought it was something wrong with your audio settings or the streaming feed, no, Noah Eagle definitely intentionally said it each and every time.

In case you’re wondering, the “Mel-bin” pronunciation is how the locals say it down under. So it’s clear that Eagle was trying to endear himself to the locals. But it drove folks back home in the states mad watching the telecast.

It wasn’t just Noah Eagle doing this, either, as it seemed to be done throughout the broadcast and on the studio set as well. So why would the Netflix NFL telecast be so focused on this?

Well, there might be good reason as the streamer was televising the game globally to 200 countries, including Australia. So whereas other American sports broadcasters televising events in Australia (like ESPN’s broadcast of the Australian Open) may have no problem going with the Americanized name because they are only geared towards the states, Netflix may have wanted to honor their hosts with a bit more deference to how the locals do it. NFL podcaster Brett Kollman even suggested that it was a point of emphasis from the city that the Netflix talent should embrace “Mel-bin” as the way to go on the telecast.

Eagle also made a habit of referring to the Melbourne Cricket Ground as just “The G,” which, if you have watched enough Australian Football League games over the year, you’ll know is also very faithful.

While it was a nice gesture, it was admittedly jarring to hear an American voice try to pronounce a city name in the Australian way without the Australian accent.

Either Netflix should have had everyone stick with “Mel-born” as we’re all used to hearing it sound so it didn’t seem so forced, or they should have had everyone call the game with fake Australian accents and used more Australian sports slang. A great catch could be a “ripper” or a “specky,” a stiff-arm would be a “don’t argue,” and a bad mistake called a “clanger.”

Better yet, they could have hired some Australian Football announcers to call the game, that would have been a lot of fun.

About Matt Yoder

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