Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Players, coaches noticed largely pro-Patriots crowd at Levi’s Stadium
Nov 20, 2016 at 10:10 PM
•
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
Former San Francisco 49ers owner and recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was honored by the team during halftime of today's game against the New England Patriots. To be honest, it was kind of an embarrassing display.
The rain was pouring down during the ceremony. DeBartolo addressed a nearly empty stadium. Most of those that were there were supporting the visiting team. Most of the participants during the ceremony seemed eager to get off the field. The opposing quarterback's name thundered through the stadium via chants from the crowd on more than one occasion. Oh yeah, and the home team lost their ninth straight game of the season, tying a franchise record set all the day back in 1978, which was DeBartolo's second year as team owner.
OLB Ahmad Brooks called the showing and lack of support "a little disrespectful." Many fans could argue that the product that has been placed on the field by ownership and management is disrespectful to those that have been faithful for so long. Fans are making their voices heard by avoiding games and have lost interest in the diluted product which only seems to be getting worse each year.
Brooks was asked if having so many 49ers legends there made him sad about the team's current state. "No," he answered. "Not necessarily because it is a new era, a new day in age, times have changed, football has changed, it has revolutionized."
"[Eddie DeBartolo Jr.] was pulling for us today," said head coach Chip Kelly following the 30-17 loss. "We were hoping he was going to be our good luck charm today and unfortunately I think we let him down."
Kelly was asked if the team was affected by the large contingent of Patriots fans cheering in the stadium. "Once you get on the field you just listen to the referees and the whistles and things like that," Kelly answered. "But, it wasn't too loud or anything that affected our play on the field."
RELATED Recap: 49ers drop 9th straight in 30-17 loss to Patriots
QB Colin Kaepernick was asked if he noticed the amount of Patriots fans. "I really hadn't thought about it, but there were a lot out there," he answered.
"I just feel like there are a lot of people around the country, across the world, that love
Tom Brady and the Patriots," 49ers T Trent Brown said via the San Francisco Chronicle following the game.
"Does it bother me? It is what it is," SS Antoine Bethea said. "What can I do about it? I can't do anything about it. There were a lot of Patriots fans. They travel well."
The Patriots didn't seem to feel as though they were at a disadvantage. They too noticed the remarkably pro-Patriots crowd.
"Yeah, I definitely felt the Patriots fans out there before the game, when we scored, when we made good plays, and after the game," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "Yeah, looks like we travel well."
It was a homecoming for Patriots QB Tom Brady and WR Julian Edelman. Both grew up in the Bay Area. Edelman was asked if it felt like a home game. "Definitely," he answered. "It's pretty crazy. Anytime we come out west it seems like we have a lot of fans out here. It's pretty amazing to see, and it's exciting being in your hometown area and seeing some of the greats that you watched growing up here. It was a fun experience."
Brady was asked about the number of supporters in the stadium. "Yeah I've got a lot of people out there waiting for me so it's very cool," he said. "It doesn't get any better than that. For the first chance to ever do that it was very special. I felt it in pregame warmup and it carried right to the last play of the game. It was pretty great. They've got a great organization, they always have and it inspired a lot of kids here in the Bay Area in my time growing up and I was one of them. To see Tom Rathman before the game, I mean I idolized him. Dwight Clark and Joe Montana, to see them at halftime it was a pretty, pretty great day for me."
Related News
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
49ers Game Day Eats - Whats New at Levi's Stadium
Two weeks into the NFL season, fans can finally look forward to the San Francisco 49ers' home opener under the national spotlight. What's on the menu this year? I had the chance to preview some of the upcoming bites at the Levi's Stadium Concessions Showcase.
I checked out Levi's Stadium food selection along with a couple of new local vendors for the upcoming season.
We were introduced to Levi's Stadium and Levy Restaurants' new Executive Chef, Alvin Kabiling, who takes the reign after working with former executive chef Jon Severson for the last several years. Kabiling recognizes that many local fans are "foodies"
49ers Notebook: Deebo is no longer "awful"; Ronnie Bell makes a splash; J.J. Watt praises Niners; Captain Andrew Luck makes Levi's cameo
Thursday night was a fun one at Levi's Stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers cruised to a 30-12 victory over the visiting New York Giants. It was a night that saw wide receiver Deebo Samuel declare himself as officially out of "awful" mode, running back Christian McCaffrey reach milestones, wide receiver Ronnie Bell create some lasting memories, and -- of all things -- Andrew Luck making a return to an NFL field (in full Civil War costume) to take part in a game of trivia.
Let's recap all that and more in this version of 49ers Notebook.
Not awful anymore
Back in June, Deebo Samuel caught some attention with his honest description of his 2022 performance
Several former 49ers named among 173 nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024
The Pro Football Hall of Fame named the 173 nominees for its Class of 2024. Several former San Francisco 49ers players are on the list, as Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area pointed out.
Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees include ex-49ers Jeff Garcia, Ricky Watters, Charlie Garner, Brian Westbrook, Anquan Boldin, Justin Smith, Dana Stubblefield, Ted Washington, NaVorro Bowman, Takeo Spikes, Patrick Willis, Lee Woodall, Julian Peterson, Merton Hanks, Tim McDonald.— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 19,
"They are basically fielding the NFL All-Pro team": Where the 49ers stand in Week 3 power rankings
The San Francisco 49ers have now won 12 consecutive regular-season games, just three games shy of tying the 15-game record set between the 1989 and 1990 seasons. Sunday's 30-23 win against the Los Angeles Rams may not have been the prettiest of victories, but Kyle Shanahan's squad improved to 2-0 on the season and sit alone atop the NFC West.
The 49ers managed to beat their division rival despite quarterback Brock Purdy having arguably his most unimpressive game as a starter. He finished the game 17-of-25 for 206 yards and a passer rating of 93.1, a new regular-season career-low as a starter.
Meanwhile, running back Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL with 268 rushing yards and ranks second only to wide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings in
