Having home-field advantage is important in all sports. The Boston Garden, home of the Boston Celtics, was famous for its lack of air conditioning and the team's playoff record. College stadiums have nicknames that proclaim the difficulty of winning there as an opposing team. Think Death Valley at LSU and the Swamp at the University of Florida.

But it's the people, the home fans, who make the biggest difference, and there are some noteworthy and admirable bases.


In Buffalo, the Bills Mafia have come out with their own shovels after horrific blizzards, clearing the field and the seats. In Cleveland, with nothing to play for in years, with no viable quarterback since Bernie Kosar in the early '90s, the Dawg Pound is still full every Sunday.

And then there are the Faithful. Sure, Kansas City and Seattle boast the decibels in home games. But how about away? The Faithful are not loud just in Santa Clara. They are not content with helping the team at Levi's Stadium only. The Faithful average 62.7% of the seats at road games. Read that again. They average more fans than the home team at away games.

When the Faithful took over New York, rookie Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart said, "That was interesting. I've never played at a home game where I felt like it was kind of lopsided in [the crowd] department."

But you can't just blame it on a weak team where fans might not show. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said the Bucs had to go to a silent snap count in Tampa because of the visiting team's fan noise.

The Los Angeles Rams are leading the West, but while SoFi Stadium may be named for a California company, it is called Levi's South once a year because red fills most of the seats.


Since 2015, the Niners are 8-3 in LA.

Even with the most injured team in the NFL, the Niners are 10-4. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan has done an amazing job, perhaps his best job coaching in his career, and he certainly deserves some votes for Coach of the Year.

But no one should overlook the influence of the Faithful. The Niners have played eight games on the road, and they are 6-2. That's tied with the most road wins in the league. One of the other two teams is Seattle, and while they do have one of the best home crowds in the league, the Niners beat them on their home turf.

The 49er Faithful are unmatched. They dominate. And they have their team's back like no one else.

In memory of a good friend and 49ers fan, Dan Madison, who passed away.

Written By:

Jack Stewart


Jack Stewart was educated at Alabama and Emory and was a Brittain Fellow at Georgia Tech. His poetry has been published widely in the US and several other countries. His book No Reason was published in the Poeima Poetry Series in 2020.
All articles by Jack Stewart


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