49ers fans set to invade the Rams' stadium after 'ticket tactic'

After announcing their 'ticket tactic' earlier in this week, the Rams may have bitten off more than they can chew where 49ers fans are concerned.

The Rams ticket restriction may have backfired

Back on January 9th when the Rams met the 49ers at SoFi Stadium in there was something off about the atmosphere, which is to say it didn't feel very much like home field advantage for Los Angeles. Indeed there were enough 49ers fans present in the 74,447 capacity arena that Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was actually had to employ a silent count on offense. The cheers for the visiting team were notably a few decibels higher than those being screamed for the boys in blue and gold. with that in mind, it would appear that the Rams experienced some kind of trauma as a result. So much so in fact that while preparing for their NFC Championship game against the said same 49ers on Sunday, they opted to take the step of restricting ticket sales to anyone living outside the Inglewood area, in a heavily debated move earlier this week.

To showcase the Rams' concern about the possible 'red take over' even further, it was just days ago when QB Matthew Stafford's wife, Kelly took to social media in an attempt to increase fan numbers for Sunday's game by announcing that she would be giving away tickets for free to worthy fans who contacted her. There was also Andrew Whitworth's wife, Melissa who openly pleaded with fans to keep their tickets and not sell them. Needless to say, the effect all of this has had on 49ers fans has not been positive.

The 49ers fans are coming like it or not

While efforts like those of Mrs. Stafford and Whitworth can bring a smile to the face, it is unlikely they will have had any real effect. What's more is that tickets sold through secondary market sites will undoubtedly be available to anyone who can pay regardless of their address. Add to that the fact that the Rams have since back tracked on their 'ticket tactic' and the situation starts to look even more grim for the shaken Rams fans. Then last but not least, there is the 49ers faithful themselves who have seen the whole affair as a direct provocation and more over a call to action. Fans like lifelong 49ers fan Shane Stern, who according to Yahoo Sports didn’t want the Rams to get away with restricting ticket sales. What did he do? Last Sunday morning, Stern posted on Twitter that he would “happily buy everyone’s tickets” using his Thousand Oaks billing address if 49ers fans Venmoed him money in advance. The response was massive.

“I was pretty surprised,” Stern told Yahoo Sports. “They told me where they wanted to sit and let me know that they were ready to send the money. I took care of quite a few people before the Rams lifted the restrictions." There are of course not only many others like Stern, but also Rams fans who themselves saw an opportunity to make a profit. According to NBC, one such fan - who requested anonymity - explained that his tickets with face value of $187 each were sold for $1000 a pop.

The 49ers are looking forward to the atmosphere.

If there is one player who has been a vocal fan of the fans, its 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo who has always been appreciative of the support the team gets regardless of where they play. Indeed Garoppolo has been particularly outspoken about the topic during the post season as the 49ers traveled greater distances than any of the other teams, playing all three of their playoff games on the road.

“The Faithful, they travel tremendously,” Garoppolo said Wednesday. “When you can get your fans behind you like that on a road game and we knew it before the game even started, there was a lot of red, you could see it, but once we started making plays and they started getting loud, it just changes the momentum of the game, I think. You could feel it on the sideline. It’s not something that you could really put your finger on and you can’t see specifically, but you could feel, you could hear it. And our team responds well to that. So hopefully the Faithful will be out there loud and proud. And I know they’re trying.” The quarterback's sentiments were echoed by his teammate and 49ers kicker, Robbie Gould. “Hopefully we will have a sea of red down at SoFi,” Gould said. “Turn it into Levi’s South.”