Philadelphia sports fans are not for the faint of heart — or anyone sleeping, as Kyle Shanahan learned early on in his coaching career.
Ahead of Sunday’s NFC Wild Card matchup with the Eagles, the 49ers coach revisited an amusing memory from his first road game at Philadelphia as an assistant.
“I go earlier than the buses, but I used to not get my own ride there before I was a head coach,” Shanahan told reporters Friday. “So I do remember going there, maybe the first time, because my head was asleep on the bus window, and then I thought it got shot, but it was an egg hitting in the window. It actually shattered it somehow with an egg, maybe it was hard boiled. But yes, be ready.”
Of course, Philadelphia sports fans have a well-known reputation across the country for their … intense support of their teams. Shanahan and the 49ers are no stranger to that dynamic, having faced off against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field for the NFC Championship Game in the 2022 NFL season.
That game obviously didn’t go as planned, as both San Francisco quarterbacks got injured in the 49ers’ 31-7 loss, so there’s a clear opportunity for revenge in the minds of the Faithful.
It also doesn’t hurt that the 49ers already squashed some potential demons in Philly the following season, when they drubbed the Eagles 42-19 in Week 13 of the 2023 season. Brock Purdy threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns in that win, evidently undisturbed by the Bird Gang.
Nevertheless, the home crowd in Philadephia certainly should be a factor in Sunday’s playoff matchup as San Francisco looks to advance to the NFL Divisional round.
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