Alright, buckle up because 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan dropped a truth bomb that’s gotta be stinging the Rams right about now. He’s absolutely convinced his team’s “Faithful” fan base is gonna take over the entire 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground this Thursday night when the Niners “play” the Rams! Can you believe it? The Rams thought they could ditch their perpetual home-field disadvantage in Los Angeles by shipping a division game halfway across the world to Australia. But Shanahan? He’s saying, “Nah, it won’t be much different.” Ouch.
The Rams Thought They Were Escaping, Shanahan Says “Think Again”
Remember when Shanahan was super salty about the Rams even wanting to send a “home” game all the way to Australia? Of course you do. The dude was practically fuming, and honestly, who could blame him? The whole, blatant strategy behind it was for the Rams to completely avoid yet another San Francisco fan takeover at their *own* SoFi Stadium. Talk about an embarrassing look for L.A., right? When your biggest rival’s fans show up and literally paint your stadium red, that’s a problem.
But now, after the 49ers and Shanahan have actually landed and are hunkered down in Melbourne, his outlook has, surprisingly, shifted a little. But don’t get it twisted, that signature Shanahan fire is still burning bright. He held a press conference on Sunday, and he didn’t pull any punches, making it crystal clear that he still firmly believes the league totally “let the Rams off the hook.” Think about that for a second. The NFL allowed L.A. to specifically pick *this* annual showdown, against their biggest division rival, to be the game sent overseas. That feels less like a fair international series expansion and more like a desperate attempt by the Rams to try and game the system, doesn’t it? They basically tried to run away from their own “home field” issues against the Niners.
Melbourne Won’t Save the Rams From the Red Tide
So, what’s Shanahan predicting now that he’s actually Down Under? He’s straight-up saying “it won’t be much different” than playing in L.A. He’s not just hoping, he’s expecting the Faithful to roll into that massive, 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground and completely cover it in red on Thursday night. Seriously, can you even picture the scene? It’s going to be wild.
The Rams, in what can only be described as an act of desperation, totally gave up their supposed home-field advantage. Their motivation? To avoid the sheer humiliation of seeing 49ers red absolutely outnumbering their own blue in their L.A. venue. And now, according to Shanahan’s firm belief, that desperate move won’t even matter for the NFL’s first-ever game in Australia. He’s basically saying, “You can run, but you can’t hide from the Faithful.” It’s a bold, bold prediction, but honestly, if you’ve ever seen how that Niner fan base travels and shows up, it’s incredibly tough to argue against him. Their fans are everywhere, absolutely everywhere.
And let’s not forget, this isn’t just some meaningless exhibition or a preseason warm-up. This is a genuinely consequential matchup because the outcome is going to directly impact the incredibly important tiebreakers within the division. A game with *that* much riding on it, with actual division implications, arguably shouldn’t even be part of the international series, but hey, here we are. So mark your calendars for Thursday night, because if Kyle Shanahan is even half-right, we’re about to witness an epic display of fan dedication halfway around the globe, and the Rams are going to be left wondering why they ever thought they could outrun the Faithful.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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