As the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are preparing to face one another in a Week 1 matchup in Australia, it appears the rivalry has levels to it as it’s gone beyond the football field and into the media.
Longtime San Francisco 49ers reporter David Lombardi and Rams President of Team and Media Operations for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, Kevin Demoff, got into a social media argument over the two teams.
The argument started after Lombardi reposted a story on X from the Herald Sun Sport on Tuesday that was about former Rams running back Todd Gurley talking about the 49ers going to Australia to have a good time, while the Rams are treating it like a business trip.
Lombardi went and called out the Rams organization and wrote, “An actual ‘business trip’ would involve the Rams taking the time to actually grow the brand.”
“There’s a reason the Rams don’t even own LA. IT’s related to their current mentality. Moving to Anaheim, and then St. Louis, severely hurt the cultivation of a fan base. 49ers benefit.”
Demoff responded to Lombardi’s post on Wednesday and said, “It’s nice to see you taking a break from your Brock Purdy obsession to start to care about how we run our team and the decisions we make.”
“I simply can’t understand why you and the rest of the 49ers media is so obsessed with the Rams brand but I take it as a compliment!”
The response by Demoff got a large response, as it generated 207.9 thousand views within four hours.
Former Rams Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth commented on Demoff’s post and said: “Talk to em Prez!!”
After Demoff called out Lombardi, the longtime 49ers journalist didn’t respond to him, which appears to have put an end to their feud.
Aside from what Gurley believes the trip means for the two teams, they both arrived at their times for different reasons.
The 49ers were told that if they arrived about a week before, their bodies would acclimate better to the environment.
The Rams opted to leave for Australia on Tuesday, as they are hoping to avoid jet lag.
The two teams are set to face off against each other on Friday at 10:35 a.m. (local time) and will air on live TV at 5:35 p.m. PT.
