The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are set to square off on Thursday night in Melbourne, Australia, and the tensions are high.
If you needed any evidence of that, just look at the social media activity of Rams president Kevin Demoff.
Apparently, he hasn’t exactly loved all the criticism the Rams have gotten for showing up to Melbourne later than the Niners, even though the Rams are technically the “home” team in this matchup. San Francisco Standard writer David Lombardi went after the Rams for failing to grow their brand on the trip on social media, which set Demoff off.
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! https://t.co/aKnhLWZwZq
— Kevin Demoff (@kdemoff) September 9, 2026
He replied to Lombardi on social media with the following:
“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!”
Now, it certainly is hilarious to see a Rams executive take aim at Lombardi for his severe homer-ism and seeming inability to be critical of the Niners in any way, shape, or form. Lombardi's condescension and “I’m always right” attitude are grating, even for the most positive of 49ers fans. But for a Rams executive to be going after him is just an embarrassing look for LA.
Sure, it doesn’t hold a candle to the stuff that 49ers owner Jed York was up to recently but it still just comes off as incredibly defensive and insecure.
Rams president's reaction to 49ers paints ironic picture
Demoff probably knows the 49ers have been getting all sorts of good press for going to Melbourne early and have been gaining a lot of support among locals who probably don’t really know all that much about either team.
Maybe he’s wishing L.A. had taken a similar approach.
The expectation is that 49ers fans will outnumber Rams fans, which isn’t any different from when the two teams face off in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium. It’s objectively hilarious the Rams wanted this game to be in Australia to try to nullify the advantage the Niners usually have against them, and they’re still going to be outnumbered.
Obviously, Rams players probably couldn’t care less what people are saying or about what this game means for the “brand” of the team. They’re just trying to play a football game, so all of this outside noise is not going to impact either squad in the contest.
Still, it’s telling that Demoff is going off on Lombardi, and suggests the former is probably wishing his team had followed the same path as the Niners.
Demoff clearly resents the fact the 49ers have a way more dedicated fanbase than the Rams.
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