Kyle Shanahan gives hilarious response to reporter about rival fanbase

While a particular media member might have been privy to the nature of his question to Kyle Shanahan about the 12th Man, the 49ers head coach sure was.

If you were to visit the San Francisco 49ers' press box and conference room during and after any given Niners game at Levi's Stadium during the regular season, you'd typically find the local beat writers, insiders, bloggers and media types who cover San Francisco on a normal basis.

Occasionally, during high-profile games and primetime showdowns, the national media will show up. But, for the most part, it's the same names and media personalities on a week-to-week basis.

Then, the postseason hits.

In addition to the local and national NFL media types, non-sports media will often show up to press conferences and games.

And it can become fairly clear that these reporters aren't entirely abreast of all things 49ers, which was the case during head coach Kyle Shanahan's interview with the media ahead of his team's NFC Championship game showdown against the Detroit Lions this upcoming Sunday.

Reporter asks Kyle Shanahan about 49ers fans being a '12th Man,' head coach hilariously responds

While it's not totally clear to Niner Noise which reporter asked Shanahan the question, one might assume whoever it was isn't quite familiar with the NFC West.

Or that person is and asked the question as a joke.

"How important is the 12th man going to be on Sunday?" the reporter asked, as transcribed by KNBR 680.

Shanahan jokingly responded, "We don’t call them the 12th man here."

For Niners fans, the 12th Man is a reference that goes behind enemy lines. It's what the Seattle Seahawks' fanbase used to be called until a dispute with Texas A&M that had the same fanbase moniker.

The Hawks eventually settled on "The 12s" instead. But, the point Shanahan made still applies here.

At least he had some fun with it.

Shanahan and the 49ers square off against the Lions on Sunday, Jan. 28 at Levi's Stadium.

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