Nothing gets NFL fans more pumped up – at least during the regular season – than the week leading up to a game against a hated division rival. While the rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks has simmered down a bit in recent years, mostly due to a few poor seasons out of the former, that rivalry is still there.
The rivalry took an interesting twist in March when longtime Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman signed with San Francisco after being released by Seattle.
Traveling into enemy territory can be distracting for a visiting team. While that may be true for the 49ers when they arrive at CenturyLink Field for a game, it isn't the case when their plane lands in the Seattle area.
According to 49ers kicker Robbie Gould, the team is always greeted by a large contingent of the Niner Faithful when traveling to face the Seahawks, which was a new experience for the veteran. He knows all about bitter rivalries from his time with the Chicago Bears.
"Green Bay's that team," Gould said on KNBR Thursday morning. "For Richard (Sherman) and the Seahawks, and for the 49ers, those guys were always battling to see who either won the NFC West or the NFC Championship for several years. It should be a rivalry, and you know what I love about San Francisco is our biggest fan base is actually in Seattle."
Now, we assume Gould means outside of the Bay Area.
"When we land, there's a group of hundreds of fans that wait outside our airport," he continued. "I've never seen that. Here I am in my first professional season in 13 years, and I have fans waiting outside the hanger of where we are. It talks about how -- just that rivalry and what that means, not only to the 49ers but just that city in general."
It also speaks volumes about the 49ers franchise's popularity that it can attract such crowds in the city of a division rival.
You can listen to the entire KNBR interview with Gould below.