A Born 49ers Fan

How does an uncoordinated, non-athletic girly girl from Northeastern Pennsylvania become a diehard fan of a West Coast football team? Why not the Eagles or Steelers? Heck, what about the Giants or Jets? What if I told you that it was destiny...that the 49ers are my NFL soulmate?

Discovering "Joe Cool"

Growing up, I would've rather chewed glass than participate, let alone watch any kind of sport. I loved spending my time drawing, writing poetry, and headlining shows singing for my stuffed animals. One Sunday afternoon when I was in high school, I turned on our tv just as the camera zoomed in on a football player who had lifted up his helmet. I stopped in my tracks. Standing there, in all of his 80s glory, was Quarterback Joe Montana.

Choosing My Team

After the camera zoomed out, I continued flipping through channels. Just as I was about to turn off the television and continue reading the next book in the "Anne of Green Gables" series, I had a revelation: boys liked football…and I liked boys, therefore, if I liked football, then maybe boys would like me. Me being a football fan would be unexpected, so boys wouldn't be able to help but find me intriguing and a bit mysterious. Since there were other games on that day at the same time, I decided to pick a team. I had always wanted to go to California where all the movie stars lived, and San Francisco is in California, so I decided I would be a San Francisco 49ers fan. Made complete sense to me. How else would you pick a team?!

Learning the Game

That afternoon, I watched my first football game and didn't understand any of it. Well, it turned out that boys were not remotely impressed that I was a "football fan." Instead, I was met with comments like "Do you even know who the quarterback is?," "You only like them because you think Joe Montana/Steve Young is cute," and my all-time favorite, "Let me guess. You're favorite colors are red and gold." (Seriously? You think my favorite colors just happen to be red AND gold?!)

Meanwhile, the more games I watched, the more I learned about the game of football and began to actually enjoy it. When I turned 21, a bunch of male friends invited me to go to a sports bar with them to watch the Sunday games. Being a Northeastern fan of a West Coast team had proved to be a bit of an obstacle because 49ers games were rarely aired in our area. Now, I could watch my 49ers every week!

Falling in Love

Watching the games every Sunday, along with some help from my male friends, I started to learn about the game at a faster rate and started to fall in love with it. One of my biggest pet peeves is being

underestimated. The more I knew about football, the more I grew tired of the comments about my 49ers fandom. I decided that I would put an end to it. That offseason, I bought the only two pro football books that B. Dalton sold, along with every NFL season preview magazine. I studied them like I was prepping for the LSATs. By the time football season started, I was ready to verbally slap down anyone who dared doubt my knowledge about football, especially when it came to the 49ers. I wouldn't let anyone doubt my love for my team. I knew I would be a 49ers fan for life.

Meant to Be

Years later, I realized that I was, quite literally, born to be a 49ers fan. You see, my birthday is April 9th (4/9).. In the Bay Area and throughout the Niners empire, April 9th is known as "Niners Day," the day of the year that the Niners organization is celebrated. Celebrating my birthday on "Niners Day?" That's more than coincidence. That's fate. My fandom was written in the stars.