Over the last few weeks, 49ers and Seahawks fans have waged small war of one-upmanship. It all started in early December, when Seahawks fans…er…THE 12TH MAN (sorry, as a Seattle resident, I’m legally required to refer to them as that — ALL CAPS, too) bought an airplane banner and flew a 12TH MAN flag around Candlestick Park.
Now, 49ers fans have fired back with a message of their own. Thanks to the magic of crowd funding, 49ers faithful were able to purchase digital billboard space with the message “Got Lombardis?” — a reference to the Niners’ five Super Bowl wins (the Seahawks, obviously, have none). The group reached their goal and the boast will proudly be displayed in…Fife.
Womp, womp.
For those not familiar with the lay of the land, Fife lies 27 miles south of Downtown Seattle. As the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Nick Eaton points out, it’d be the equivalent of Seahawks fans posting a billboard in Palo Alto to taunt Niners fans. But at least a billboard in Palo Alto would have a nice home, as the billboard Niners fans purchased rests along a dreary stretch of I-5 (see picture above), in a city people only visit when they want to buy an RV (sorry, Fifesters!).
All kidding aside, the harmless — and somewhat silly — back and forth has a charitable angle, as any money raised beyond the cost of the billboard will be donated to Seattle Children’s Hospital.
About John Ferensen