Nineteen thousand and twenty-one San Francisco 49ers fans filled Levi's Stadium today. It was the the first time the venue hosted The Faithful since the NFC Championship Game in January of 2020. For Trent Williams, the wait to perform in front of fans was even longer. The offensive tackle didn't play in 2019, after all.
In fact, Williams was a bit startled when he headed out onto the Levi's Stadium field for the start of practice. Except, the veteran didn't use the word "startled" and nearly described the experience differently.
"I hadn't seen people cheering for us like that for a home team," Williams told reporters after practice. "Obviously, they had some fans on the road last year, but for me, walking out of a home locker room, and having the fans—I mean, honestly, it almost scared the s--t out of ... I mean, excuse my language. It almost scared me because I'm just walking out for normal practice. I forget that the fans are there.
"As soon as you walk out, you just hear a thunderous roar. I'm like, 'Oh.' I mean, obviously I was walking behind (George) Kittle and (Nick) Bosa, so they had reasons to scream, but it definitely was one of those benchmarks. Like, 'Oh, hold on, I forgot what it feels like to be cheered on.'"
Despite Williams nearly being frightened by the crowd, the team enjoyed having fans back at Levi's Stadium. President Al Guido said before practice that the team is preparing to pack Levi's Stadium to full capacity in a week for the 49ers' first preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Just a portion of the stadium was filled up, but we still had trouble even hearing each other, hearing the coaches," Williams said of today's practice. "... Being back out there with the fans definitely felt good."