COEUR d'ALENE - Hannah Rivera jumped out of her seat, clapping with excitement when the San Francisco 49ers scored a touchdown. Her friend Dan O'Rourke raised his arms high and followed suit.

The duo watched Sunday's NFC Championship game between San Francisco and Seattle from the cushy stools of Cricket's Restaurant and Oyster Bar, where many other sports enthusiasts enjoyed the game, eventually won by Seattle 23-17. Whether wearing blue and green or red and white, fans showed their team pride and watched with anticipation as the epic game played on a multitude of screens in bars and restaurants throughout town.

"I can't stand them," said O'Rourke, of Coeur d'Alene, when asked about the Seahawks. "And it's not so much them, it's their coaching staff, their media and their fan base. They're obnoxious. They've taken over for the Raiders."

O'Rourke, who is originally from San Francisco, has been a lifelong fan. Rivera, of Coeur d'Alene, is a big fan of the quarterback.

"I love (Colin) Kaepernick," she said. "We're going to smash the sea chickens."

Down the street at Splash, mostly Seahawks fans congregated to watch the game.

"The Seahawks and I were born on the same year, 1976, and unfortunately, neither of us have a Super Bowl ring," said Lance Perry of Coeur d'Alene. "I feel like this is the year. I can feel it."

Perry said the Seahawks are the closest thing Coeur d'Alene has to a home team, and right now the 49ers are "our biggest rivals."

"Like any other good Seahawks fan, I would refer to them as the 'Forty Whiners,'" he said. "I think that there's going to be people getting hurt in this game. There's so much hype behind it and both the teams are so excited."

Ryan Gerard, usually a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, rooted for Seattle because they're close to home.

"For one, the Steelers aren't available to be in the playoff games," he said. "Two, I guess it's local."

Gerard, of Coeur d'Alene, said he would absolutely like to see the Seahawks win the Super Bowl.

"To be honest, I have kind of like a distaste for the Mannings," he said. "I like to see them fail because they're so good. I would like to see the Seahawks win ... I think Seattle is going to blow out the 49ers."

Perry said he believed the Seahawks had a solid home advantage.

"We just gotta believe, man," he said. "Just gotta believe."