49ers NFC title game sells out within hours

Wednesday was a day of San Francisco 49ers news.

First, fans had to act quickly to get tickets for Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the New York Giants at Candlestick Park — the game sold out within three hours, team officials said.

Tickets went on sale to 49ers season ticket holders at 10 a.m., then to the general public at 1 p.m. The team sent out a notice announcing the sellout shortly before 4 p.m.

All tickets were sold through Ticketmaster, with people limited to buying four tickets per order.

Tickets could still be available on the secondary market, but fans should beware of counterfeit tickets being sold outside the stadium on game day or on sites like Craigslist or eBay, according to 49ers officials.

The only way to ensure the authenticity of the tickets is to buy them via the NFL Ticket Exchange, the only re-sale site supported by the league.

During the day, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee put the sanctity of the city’s famed cable cars on the line in a bet on the 49ers’ NFC Championship game against the New York Giants at Candlestick Park on Sunday.

Lee and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed to the terms of a friendly wager on Sunday’s game. If the 49ers win, 49th Street in Manhattan will be renamed 49ers Street for one day and Bloomberg will have to send a dozen bagels from Bagel Oasis in Queens to San Francisco.

But if New York wins, Lee will have to outfit a Powell Street cable car with the team’s blue and red flags, and also send Boudin sourdough bread to the Big Apple, according to the mayor’s office.

Lee said in a statement, “49ers fever is sweeping our city and the entire Bay Area region, and we are so proud of our hometown team.”

“We’re going all the way to the Super Bowl. The Giants will have to leave their hearts and their Super Bowl hopes in San Francisco,” he said.

Bloomberg countered with a statement saying the Giants “are going to breeze by the 49ers,” whose fans “will be left with a taste as sour as their famous bread.”

According to the Lee’s office, the mayor had initially considered asking Bloomberg to temporarily rename New York City as Jed York City, after the 49ers’ president, before agreeing to the terms of the wager.

The 49ers’ thrilling 36-32 win over the New Orleans Saints last week already won Lee and his staff a bet against that city’s mayor.

Mayor Mitchell Landrieu agreed to send fresh Louisiana seafood, a

Sucre king cake and Abita beer to Lee if the Saints lost, and now has to pay up.

Then Vice President Joe Biden joined the fray, but not the way that endeared him to 49er fans.

Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser in San Francisco’s financial district Wednesday afternoon, Biden announced that “the Giants are going all the way!”

That drew jeers until Biden realized the mistake and explained that he was talking about the San Francisco Giants baseball team. He quickly apologized, then clarified that he meant to say “49ers.”

Biden and his Jill have since moved on to other campaign stops in California.

Sunday’s game between the 49ers and Giants will kick off at 3:30 p.m. at Candlestick Park.

Dan McMenamin, Erika Heidecker, Bay City News

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Dan McMenamin, Erika Heidecker, Bay City News

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