Have the 49ers lost their Home Field Advantage

[Band of Brothers]

The 49ers when they first started out in San Francisco had a mostly blue collar fan base who loved the game and the team and fought for them in the stands with their last breaths. Horse throats were a common place around the bay on Monday's after 49ers games. Over the years after the 49ers have tasted so much success wine sippers replaced a lot of beer drinkers who had a little more rowdy in them.

I have nothing bad to say about wine drinkers but as tickets rise the blue collar fans begin to get phased out for corporate sponsors and that money. Over the years I have seen loyal fans have to decide on buying season tickets or improving their lives on a year around day to day real life way. Many decided to buy big screen TV's and stay at home to cheer at home. More and more people are deciding to go to a local eating establishment or bar to take in the Sunday experience.

The Stick always had enough blue collar fans to make that place Rock hard. When the Stick rocked it could be one of the loudest places to play. The visitors locker room was cramped and out dated which also gave the 49ers a advantage. The Stick field slowed down fast running backs as Dorsett and Barry Sanders found out. Eddie D. knew when to leave the sprinklers on a little longer the night before one of the great backs came in. The field is below sea level so most of the time mother nature worked her magic for our 49ers.

This new stadium looks fantastic with every bell and whistle you can imagine but when the chips are down all that counts is winning games. It seems like it is more about steak houses and luxury boxes while the more blue collar fans bake in a hot sun and some have to ditch their seats to stay cool. It was reported that some of the primo seats were also ditched so that the more white collar crowd could party in private.

Home Field advantage is huge in the NFL and being loud is so important to the home team. Just look at Seattle and while some of their fans can be a pain in the ass to talk to you have to give them credit for that 12th man and the excitement it brings to the team and the city.

Look people are going to cheer the way they want to and I know we are not going back to Kezar or Candlestick but finding that Home Field Advantage is going to be more of a challenge. I know 49ers fans are up to the challenge. Let's Rock the new house.

 

[Number7]

No.

 

[dkmightyhammer]

Troy Aikman spoke about the exact same thing you are describing. He said Dallas's "fans" are often nothing more than people who were given tickets by corporations who own the seats. Many of the people that end up attending Cowboys games don't really even care if they are there and some aren't even football fans. Other seats owned by companies are used for doing business so again the people using them aren't really invested in the game as much as a die hard fan would be.


It's tough for a regular dude to even go to a game with the prices now. Seahawks tickets average around $200 and up for nose bleed seats. If I took my kids and wife I'm looking at a grand before I even buy popcorn. So its little wonder more and more corporate seats are being bought up. They're the only ones who can afford it.

 

[Robotech]

It's weird, but the Niners seem to be no better at home than they are on the road. We lost the 2012 NFCCG to the Giants at home. We won a bunch of road playoff games the last two seasons. The regular season home-away records isn't dramatically different either.

By my count, the Niners have 6 home losses and 7 road losses during the Harbaugh era, counting the playoffs. They're playoff home record is 2-1 under Harbaugh, while their playoff road record is 3-1. And of course, they are 0-1 at a neutral site, the Super Bowl.

Going back even further, I can remember the Niners losing a lot of big home games, the most painful one being the 1991 NFCCG against the Giants. I also remember losing home playoff games to the Vikings in the '80s, to the Cowboys and Packers in the '90s. Maybe you're right that years of success in the '80s have turned our home crowd into a group that is not loud, blue collar bunch that could give a team an advantage.

 

[Uhsplit]

Troy Aikman spoke about the exact same thing you are describing. He said Dallas's "fans" are often nothing more than people who were given tickets by corporations who own the seats. Many of the people that end up attending Cowboys games don't really even care if they are there and some aren't even football fans. Other seats owned by companies are used for doing business so again the people using them aren't really invested in the game as much as a die hard fan would be.


It's tough for a regular dude to even go to a game with the prices now. Seahawks tickets average around $200 and up for nose bleed seats. If I took my kids and wife I'm looking at a grand before I even buy popcorn. So its little wonder more and more corporate seats are being bought up. They're the only ones who can afford it.

Easy there DK. You must be quoting prices on the secondary market. The least expensive ticket at The Clink is $510 for a single season ticket. Most folks buy 2 at a time. That becomes $1020 for 10 games (2 home preseason and 2 home regular season). So for $102, you and the Mrs can check out the game live if you could get the least expensive seats in town.

The problem is, all of those seats and the rest of the seats at the stadium are sold out with a 12000 person waiting list that is filled to the brim.

Based upon simple supply/demand economics, secondary ticket prices should be through the roof validating your comment.

 

[darken65]

Sound check: Levi?s decibel level gets lukewarm review - 49ers - The Sacramento Bee
Seems like it was not the home opener that the 9ers might have wanted as far as our fan base. Read some of the comments by fans who were at the game. They need to understand that this is football, not a wine tasting event or elegant food venue.Just give me some garlic fries and a beer. I usually go to at least one game a season. Visit the city and take in a game. That price has gone way up and I will be missing a home game this season. Catching the game at Metlife in November. A bit disappointed really. Hopefully things will work out.

 

[BloodType49]

Sound check: Levi?s decibel level gets lukewarm review - 49ers - The Sacramento Bee
Seems like it was not the home opener that the 9ers might have wanted as far as our fan base. Read some of the comments by fans who were at the game. They need to understand that this is football, not a wine tasting event or elegant food venue.Just give me some garlic fries and a beer. I usually go to at least one game a season. Visit the city and take in a game. That price has gone way up and I will be missing a home game this season. Catching the game at Metlife in November. A bit disappointed really. Hopefully things will work out.

Kinda hard for a fan base to stay loud during a game when A. The home team is stinking it up, and B There is a freakin penalty after every other play.

 

[darken65]

Kinda hard for a fan base to stay loud during a game when A. The home team is stinking it up, and B There is a freakin penalty after every other play.

11:59 AM - 16 Sep 2014

[/INDENT]

It was more about these kind of comments that I was posting about...not the game.

 

[Ricky Roma]

The only home field advantage SF ever really enjoys is the fact that teams have to make the trip out west (which is nothing compared to when the Niners have a game on the East Coast). There were several years in which the Niners had an equal, if not better road record than home record.

 

[GoreRush]

Levi's Stadium will never have the same affect that candlestick park had!

 

[GoreRush]

Text from my Rams fan bro in LA just now - I'm thankful for not being a 49ers fan

 

[Southieinnc]

I went to Candlestick back in the Montana days. Fun place to watch football, great place to tailgate, tough place to get out of after a game. What made candlestick unique was the tide. When the tide was in the water level rose under the field and it was sloppy as shit!
Candlestick was fun. I watched the Stones there, divorced a wife there, watched Joe play there. The playoffs were crazy. California is more blue-collar than outsiders reallize. California has a lot of "regular people"
Losing the Stick' to the wine and cheese crowd is unfortunate but it is not permanant - it's just the way they market the new stadium. Once the beer spills and the gum starts to stain the concrete, the real fans will take over.....

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Has nothing to do with their home field. They have no QB and it's a passing league now.

 

[Uhsplit]

I went to Candlestick back in the Montana days. Fun place to watch football, great place to tailgate, tough place to get out of after a game. What made candlestick unique was the tide. When the tide was in the water level rose under the field and it was sloppy as shit!
Candlestick was fun. I watched the Stones there, divorced a wife there, watched Joe play there. The playoffs were crazy. California is more blue-collar than outsiders reallize. California has a lot of "regular people"
Losing the Stick' to the wine and cheese crowd is unfortunate but it is not permanant - it's just the way they market the new stadium. Once the beer spills and the gum starts to stain the concrete, the real fans will take over.....

I see you reside in Okinawa.
Any chance you are dialed into the local karate community?

 

[Pattersonca65]

Sound check: Levi?s decibel level gets lukewarm review - 49ers - The Sacramento Bee
Seems like it was not the home opener that the 9ers might have wanted as far as our fan base. Read some of the comments by fans who were at the game. They need to understand that this is football, not a wine tasting event or elegant food venue.Just give me some garlic fries and a beer. I usually go to at least one game a season. Visit the city and take in a game. That price has gone way up and I will be missing a home game this season. Catching the game at Metlife in November. A bit disappointed really. Hopefully things will work out.

I think there is something to the corporate thing and a less racous fan base. I understand there was not alot to cheer about, but still. Sad, because I go to both Warrior and Giants games and in both places the fans get really active.

 

[Southieinnc]

I see you reside in Okinawa.
Any chance you are dialed into the local karate community?

I am not personally involved.

 

[Pattersonca65]

I am not personally involved.

Karate Kid, LOL? Would love to experience it. I practiced Tae Kwon Do for many years and had the opportunity to travel to the Ku Ki Won in South Korea to experience it but chose not to go. I wish I had gone now

 

[Uhsplit]

I am not personally involved.

I was curious. I am a Shodan (black belt) trained in the shuri ryu system of Okinawan karate.
Okinawa is the birthplace of karate under the influence of Chinese martial arts and boxing. Some interesting history about all of that if you are wondering.
Carry on...

 

[Logicallylethal]

Hard to tell because I'm only watching it on TV...but it seemed like the stadium was pretty loud and the fans were into it early on in the game.

I think it was just deflating the way the 49ers offense performed. Players feed off the fans, but at the same time fans also feed off the players. Hard for some fans to keep up the energy when the players aren't giving them any reason to cheer for

 

[GoreRush]

Has nothing to do with their home field. They have no QB and it's a passing league now.

Our home field is a major problem. Real fans can't afford to go or don't want to drive to San Jose. They're priced out of attendance and Thursday night we saw the "fight" that comes from the champagne and caviar demographic.