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49ers' Rocky Start Makes For Ticket Buyer's Market

SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- The 49ers have had a rough start to their season, but some fans are getting to benefit from the teams struggles.

For Thursday's nationally televised game, some people paid more for their parking than they did for their seats.

There are still plenty of faithful fans more likely to sell a kidney than a Niners ticket.

"I've been a 49ers fan since I was a kid," supporter Mike Simpson told KPIX 5. "Everyone in my family was a Raider fan, so I'm not stopping now."

But for better or worse, online ticket sales can be a good barometer for how fans are feeling about a team.

After a lackluster start to the season, there are signs that the faith may be faltering.

"We are having some rough patches now, and some fans are going the opposite way. It's kind of rough to see," said another fan.

Online, hundreds of season ticket holders are dumping their tickets, often at a loss.

At the NFL Ticket Exchange Thursday, there were tickets going for as little as $20 bucks. That's well below face value.

But one fan's loss is another's gain. Simpson got a great deal of tickets. After being a lifelong fan, he is seeing his team in person for the very first time.

"There's a lot of fair-weather fans. They come when it's good and they go when it's down, explained Simpson. But I've been a fan of the team since I was five."

 

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