Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers fans will pack the AT&T Stadium on Sunday for the wild card showdown.
Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers fans will pack the AT&T Stadium on Sunday for the wild card showdown.
Fans have waited 27 years for a post-season rematch, and the anticipation is reflected in ticket costs. Seat Geek shows the lowest-priced tickets can be found at $141 for standing room only, as of Friday afternoon. Some tickets are going for over $1,500, while the most expensive ticket on their site as of this writing is going for $4,606 before fees.
Cecilia Aguilera, a lifelong 49ers fan, is driving from Amarillo with her family.
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“Our tickets, we didn’t get really, really close to it, but I had to get a close to $2,000 loan just to get us three to be able to go to the game,” Aguilera said. “These types of events don’t always come. I just went for it.”
Jaime Castro of Dallas considers himself a “super fan” of the Dallas Cowboys, with Sunday being his 200th consecutive home game.
“There’s all kinds of emotions running crazy right now. I can’t sleep, can’t wait,” Castro said. “Us superfans, you constantly call each other to kind of reassure each other like, ‘Hey, man…what do you think?’”
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Castro met Miguel Castellanos of Grand Prairie through their shared love for the team. Castellanos moved to North Texas four years ago from California, but he said he has been a Cowboys fan since he was 10-years-old.
“I was born here, but I lived in Mexico for a couple of years. I didn’t know any American football when I was younger. When I was 10 years old, I watched the Cowboys versus Bills Superbowl in 1993. I was hooked on from them on,” Castellanos said. “I couldn’t get my eyes off the team with the star on the helmet. I just started watching from there, and the fandom just kept growing and growing until I started wearing a mask for my Mexican traditions and my culture.”
Through their fandom, the two have grown to be close friends.
“It goes back to my belief that sports unites. You find something in common, and you build on that. You build a lasting friendship,” Castro said.
Longtime fan Carolyn Price, known as Ms. Price, said she is confident the Cowboys will win on Sunday.
"I'm real excited," Price said. "I just can't wait."
Nearby business owners are planning on a rush of customers.
At J. Gilligan's Bar and Grill, owner Randy Ford has already installed portable tents in the parking lot to handle the crowd.
On a normal day, about 15 employees are on the schedule, he said.
"On Sunday, we have 65 people working," Ford said. "It's huge."
The game starts at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
NBC 5's Scott Gordon contributed to this article.
