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The San Francisco 49ers fanbase has traveled fairly well in recent years, but on Sunday they got a little bit of a taste of their own medicine. While there were plenty of 49ers fans at the Week 4 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, there was a vocal Packers contingent on hand. I don't have specific numbers, but it generally seemed pretty loud. The example below is from a "Go Pack, Go!" chant, but I also heard a distinct "Kuuuuuuhn" chant after fullback John Kuhn scored a touchdown.
Fire sale: 49ers fans selling average of 11,800 tickets per remaining game, per official site. That's 36% more than *any* other NFL team.
— Mike Rosenberg (@RosenbergMerc) October 5, 2015
Considering the 49ers current struggles, it is possible this becomes a slightly more regular occurrence. According to Mike Rosenberg, 49ers ticket-holders are selling a significantly higher percentage of their tickets compared to other teams. Per the NFL Ticket Exchange, 49ers fans are selling an average of 11,800 tickets per game. That apparently is 36 percent higher than any other NFL team.
There are a couple possible reasons for this. The first is basic economics. The team is into year two at Levi's Stadium, so the novelty wears off a bit. While that novelty wears off, the sticker price is still there, and a lot of fans have to sell tickets to cover the cost of their SBLs and tickets.
The second is of course the product we are seeing on the field. Fans are unhappy with what they are seeing, with plenty likely pissed off dating back to Jim Harbaugh's departure. If the team was good, I imagine plenty of these people would be going to games and not selling their tickets. Some still would, but the team's awful performance the last three weeks likely pushes some folks to sell their tickets.
I think this high number is a combination of both, and at this point, I expect to see strong road team crowds at Levi's Stadium for much of this season. It won't be every week, because teams like the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals just don't travel like other teams. But when the 49ers host the Seahawks in three weeks, you know there will be plenty of their fans in attendance. It will be interesting to see just how much opposing teams can fill up Levi's Stadium.