Rams In Danger Of Losing NFC Championship Home-Field Advantage As Ticketmaster Lifts Restrictions

PublishedJanuary 24, 2022 2:40 PM EST|UpdatedJanuary 24, 2022 2:40 PM EST

The huge story heading into the NFC title game between the 49ers and the Rams isn't whether the San Francisco defense can stop a hot Matthew Stafford. It's a question of whether the Rams will have home-field advantage in their own stadium. 49ers fans took over SoFi Stadium in Week 18 to the point where Stafford resorted to using a silent count -- in his home stadium -- according to his wife.

It was such a disadvantage the last time these two teams played at SoFi that Kelly Stafford practically begged Rams fans to not give up their tickets to Cardinals fans on Wild Card Weekend.

Sunday, after the Rams beat the Buccaneers and secured a home NFC title game, ticket buyers started to report Ticketmaster running a notice on ticket purchases that sales would be limited to "residents of the Greater Los Angeles region."

By Monday morning, with pressure mounting to allow outsiders to complete purchases, Ticketmaster reportedly ended its restrictions and now 49ers fans from outside the Los Angeles area are free to scoop up as many tickets as they'd like.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve never seen so many of the opposing teams’ fans at a game,” Kelly Stafford said after the Week 18 experience against the 49ers.

“Matthew is on a silent count. When he hikes the ball, it’s either a loud count where you can hear him, and that’s what usually quarterbacks are on when they’re at home. Matthew is on a silent count, Jimmy Garoppolo was not – who is the opposing quarterback. It was crazy.

“I mean, I’ve never seen anything like that and it made it very hard for us because I guess we weren’t expecting to be on silent count.”

The current get-in price for the game is $582 on TickPick. At StubHub, the cheapest pair is $539 per seat.

Now we wait and see if the Rams are the first team in recent memory to play a road home game in the NFC title game. Will Matthew Stafford resort to a silent count in his own stadium with a trip to the Super Bowl in his home stadium on the line?