The Rams traveled nearly 8,000 miles to find neutral territory as the 49ers consistently pack SoFi Stadium with all red.
But even in another country, Los Angeles could not escape feeling like the road team against the 49ers. The proof arrived before kickoff at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. San Francisco ran out for warm-ups to enormous cheers. When the designated home team followed, boos poured down from the crowd.
“Whole stadium just boo’d the Rams when they first took the field at their ‘home’ game,” San Francisco Standard reporter David Lombardi wrote on X. “But it’s OK, they’re used to that.”
The Athletic’s Matt Barrows reported the same unmistakable split.
“As forecast, it’s very much a pro-Niners crowd here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground,” Barrows wrote. “49ers got big cheers jogging out for warm-ups, the Rams got loud boos.”
Australian broadcaster Nic Negrepontis removed any remaining ambiguity.
“49ers ran out to enormous cheers,” Negrepontis wrote. “The Rams were just booed out onto the MCG. This is unquestionably a Niners home game.”
The noise matched the view. Photos and videos from inside the stadium showed entire sections covered in red, turning the NFL’s historic first regular-season game in Australia into another apparent San Francisco takeover.
No official team-by-team breakdown was immediately available, but the visual and audible advantages belonged to the 49ers.
Close to 100,000 spectators were expected for the matchup, which sold out its initial ticket allotment in approximately 30 minutes. The NFL said 48% of buyers traveled from outside Melbourne, including visitors from more than 35 countries.
Kyle Shanahan anticipated the scene. The 49ers coach previously complained about losing the division game partly because San Francisco fans regularly invade SoFi Stadium. After arriving in Australia, he predicted the atmosphere would not be much different.
“We hope it’s a sea of red,” Fred Warner said. “No matter the situation, in the states, out of the states, [our fans] show love.”
The 49ers arrived nearly a week before kickoff, participated in community events and attended an AFL game. The Rams landed approximately 24 hours before kickoff under their radically different travel plan, limiting their public footprint despite owning NFL marketing rights in Australia.
The Rams moved their home game across the Pacific, but the boos delivered a painfully familiar message: They still could not escape the Faithful.
