The rise of an honest-to-goodness home-field advantage continues in Detroit.
Crowd noise was cited as a primary factor behind nine false-start penalties committed by the Chicago Bears last week at Ford Field, and the San Francisco 49ers had three false starts during the first quarter of Sunday's game. They finished with five but won the game, 25-19.
Coach Jim Schwartzgave Lions fans the game ball for their Week 5 performance against Chicago, and the crowd was whipped into a frenzy Sunday when the inscribed pigskin was shown on the big screen above the field.
No word if NBA superstar LeBron James was one of the noise-makers in attendance.
Schwartz implored fans to continue their rowdy behavior in a Twitter message posted before kickoff.
"Expecting #Lions fans at Ford Field to be LOUDER today than Monday," he tweeted.
Niners coach Jim Harbaugh took measures to prepare for the atmosphere. ESPN reported Sunday (via ProFootballTalk.com) that Harbaugh borrowed large speakers from his former employer, Stanford, so he could blast loud music during practice. It obviously didn't work, but we're hoping at least the coach's iPod playlist was quality.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
