4 Faithfuls explain why they’re 49ers fans

No. 1: Stacey Sandoval has been a fan of the 49ers since she was born. She’s so embedded in gamedays, she even has her superstitions.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, part of the definition of ‘superstition’ is: “a belief or practice resulting from trust in magic or chance.”

As any hard-core fan can relate, superstitions are real. 49ers fan Stacey Sandoval must complete a few tasks for the Niners to win.

”If it’s a home game, I have to wear a red (Jimmy Garoppolo) jersey. I bought it at my first game on Christmas Eve in 2017 and they won. Since then, when I’ve attended, worn the jersey and Jimmy G starts, the team has gone 8-0,” Sandoval explained. “I made sure I wore it during the NFC Divisional and NFC Championship games last year.”

San Francisco 49ers

The superstitions don’t stop there. Sandoval pops by to visit some friends who are tailgating and she makes sure she is in Levi’s Stadium when the gates open. Sometimes her husband joins her, but her game partner is friend and co-worker, Ana. They head to the player’s tunnel so they can get some prime photos, including defensive lineman Nick Bosa which she then tweets out. After the photos, she goes to get loaded carne asada nachos from the Iguana Burritozilla booth with a diet sofa in a souvenir cup.

Sandoval’s love for the red and gold can be traced to her Grandfather who was born and raised in San Francisco.

“I remember when I was in college, I used to go to my Grandfather’s house on Sundays to watch the games,” Sandoval remembered. “My favorite memory was my Grandfather talking about how he knew the family of Jeff Garcia, who was from Gilroy.”

Unfortunately, her grandfather passed away in 2005 but she always has the memories of watching the 49ers with him and him reminding everyone he knew Garcia’s family.

In December of 2017, Sandoval was in a deep depression. “I was sleeping on the couch during the day with no real strength to get up.”

But one Sunday when she woke up, the 49ers were taking on the Tennessee Titans.

“I watched Jimmy G lead the team down the field in the last two minutes and Robbie Gould kicked the game-winning field goal,” she added.

”Many say football is just a sport, but it gave me some hope when everything else in the world was negative. I also had turned off all local and world news, so all I had to read and watch was 49ers news.”

Having a husband who’s a Las Vegas Raiders fan (Oakland previously) might cause a bit of a stir in the house, but Sandoval has been able to convince him to be apart of the 49ers Faithful. If she had to convince new football fans to join in, she’d take them to a game at Levi’s Stadium.

“Robert Alberino and his team put on an exceptional game day experience.”

A big thank you to all who participated and told their stories on how they became members of the 49ers Faithful.