Australia reacts with joy after Jarryd Hayne makes the 49ers roster
It took a while for the United States to catch on to how incredible Jarryd Hayne’s journey to the NFL was. Australia understood it well before Hayne ever signed with the San Francisco 49ers.
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The rugby league star said he turned down the largest contract in National Rugby League history to sign with the 49ers for a guarantee of $100,000 and nothing else. He played well in the preseason, his story became a big one around the NFL, and he sent Australia into a celebration with a tweet announcing his big news on Saturday:
Imagine the excitement if an American sports star made it in another sport halfway around the world. That’s what happened in Australia.
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The Sydney Morning Herald wrote four stories on Saturday and Sunday chronicling Hayne making the 49ers. Most Australian papers wrote about the news, which isn’t a surprise. There was a funny story from the 49ers’ first preseason game — when Hayne broke a long run against the Houston Texans, the Australian media on hand went crazy and the press box announcer had to remind everyone that cheering wasn’t allowed in the press box. Have to love their enthusiasm.
Twitter reacted too, of course. The hashtag #hayneplaneheretostay was reportedly trending in Sydney on Saturday. Here is some of the reaction (h/t to The Daily Telegraph):
And, well, it just seems right to cap it off with this:
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
