A Birthday Lost in Time: The Strange Case of Raheem Morris
Have you ever felt like the day just got away from you? For Raheem Morris, the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, that feeling was literal. In a bizarre twist of geography and time zones, Morris didn’t just have a busy birthday—he technically skipped it entirely.
The incident occurred during the team’s journey to Australia for a Week 1 matchup. To ensure the players and staff could properly adjust to the massive time difference, the organization decided to fly out a week early. However, the timing of the flight created a perfect storm of chronological confusion.
The Math Behind the “Missing Day”
The timeline of the journey explains how Raheem Morris “time traveled” right past his milestone 50th birthday:
- n
- Departure: The team left the United States on the night of September 2nd.
- The Birthday: September 3rd was Morris’s official 50th birthday.
- Arrival: Due to crossing the International Date Line, the team landed in Australia on the morning of September 4th.
n
n
n
In essence, while Morris was in the air, the calendar jumped from the 2nd to the 4th. While the rest of the world celebrated September 3rd, the 49ers’ defensive coordinator was suspended in the clouds, effectively erasing his 50th birthday from his lived experience.
Kyle Shanahan’s Chronological Chaos
If you’re finding the logistics confusing, you aren’t alone. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted that the time shift left the entire staff feeling like they had entered an alternate dimension. When asked about the team’s preparation, Shanahan provided a hilariously confused breakdown of their current reality:
“I look at my clock, and it says the time and then I try to see my family’s time and it says the time, but it says yesterday, I don’t even get how that’s possible. So I feel like I’m in the future,” Shanahan remarked.
The coach went on to describe the struggle of maintaining a routine when “Tuesday” might actually be “Monday” or “Sunday” depending on which hemisphere you are referencing. He joked that he would likely mess up the days all week, proving that the NFL‘s global expansion comes with its own set of mental challenges.
Celebrating a “Missing” Milestone
While Raheem Morris may have missed the technical date of his 50th birthday, it is hoped that the 49ers team found a way to celebrate the occasion mid-flight. Whether it was a cake at 30,000 feet or a team cheer upon landing, reaching 50 is a milestone worth celebrating—even if you have to bend the laws of time and space to do it.
For Morris and the 49ers, this trip to Australia serves as a reminder that the game of football is played worldwide, even if the calendar doesn’t always cooperate.
