Kyle Shanahan is busy preparing his San Francisco 49ers for the team’s third consecutive trip to the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. But he still has time to shade the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks when the opportunity arises.
On Thursday, Shanahan was asked how important the “12th man” is going to be this weekend. The Seahawks affectionately refer to their fans as the 12th man. But Shanahan wants no part of that moniker.
“We don’t call them the 12th man here,” he deadpanned to the questioner before cracking a smile, courtesy of The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov.
While the 49ers coach doesn’t feel the need to christen the team’s fan base with a nickname of any kind, he did label them “very important” to his team’s efforts.
Third time’s the charm for 49ers?
Playing in front of its home crowd vs. the Lions is the reward San Francisco earned by finishing atop the NFC’s bracket. In addition to home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Niners also sat out Super Wild Card Weekend.
