My wife and I decided to head down this last weekend from our home in Seattle to the bay area to celebrate our anniversary in style, or more accurately, my team’s style. You see, I’ve been a Niners fan since I was a kid. I grew up in Oregon where we had no team and my grandmother lived in the bay. Jerry Rice was my childhood hero and a 49ers fan was born.
We went to a 49ers game last year and had a blast and decided to do it again. This time we got press conference passes as well. The entire game experience from start to finish was definitely memorable!
Firstly, because my wife is an expert travel deal hunter and NFL Exchange guru, we ended up with excellent seats for a reasonable price. We were behind the goal post about 4 rows up. Now, the hard part about behind in the endzone, is that when the play is on the other side of the field, it’s hard to see, but that pays off when the ball is on your side of the field. You can see detail you wouldn’t be able to see in other parts of the stadium.
Additionally, some how we ended up in the island seats. What I mean is that because of how the seating was structured, our row was longer than the rows in front of us and therefore we had no one directly in front of us and lots of leg room! This also meant that I had more room to jump up and down in when I got excited.
The downside was before the game, this spot in front of us had railing which made for a great spot for pictures. This meant that we had basically a receiving line of people wanting to take selfies almost in our lap. Luckily, this waned when a zealous security guard kicked them all out.
Now, if you haven’t been to Levi’s Stadium, I would recommend it. It’s beautiful. The structure on the outside is open in design and I think really suites the industrial side of SF. Additionally, the stadium is built with enough tech additions to make Silicon Valley blush. It’s in the details as they say. From bathroom stalls that tell you when they are occupied or vacant, to wifi that actually works, to simple arrows for line guidance at the concessions, to phone charging stations, organic chicken stands, and video tunnels, they have pretty much thought of everything to make the fan experience great.
The game itself was a big deal. After a lot of expectations going into last season fell into depths of injury and despair, we have been one of the biggest surprises in the league so far. Granted our first 3 games were not against world beaters but we wanted to make a statement against the overhyped Browns.
I could feel the energy even pre-game when I went to get some food. Fans were whooping and hollering in the concourse before the game even started. It’s like we collectively knew that this was an opportunity to announce ourselves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXT9lqL8r2g
Now, how did we get into the press conference? There is a company that works with the team to sell extra fan experiences from going on the field before the game, halftime, and after, to meeting with players, and sitting in armchairs on the field. We chose the press conference.
Before the game, we had to sign a bunch of waivers and get a pass. Then after the game we met back at the booth for our escort. There were supposed to be 6 of us going but the escort took just us 2 as we weren’t sure where the other 4 had gone to and they hadn’t reported to the booth yet. We were about to be the only 2 fans in the press conference.
She walked us down into the tunnel to this large door with a security guard. We had to place our cell phones into a clear bag that we couldn’t access. We then entered the room. It’s a large room with a stage, a podium, a backdrop, a few rows of nice leather stadium type seats, and a section in the back to set up cameras.
Here is where the humor comes in and I will try to describe this best I can to you.
The door opens and we see about 30 media people sitting in the chairs and some of them manning cameras in the back. They kind of look at us disappointed as we aren’t 6’5 NFL players. Then they kind of look at us like…WHO ARE YOU?
We follow our escort to the back left corner away from the media.
Now the chairs each have a tray built in and all the trays are up like you would see in a school. The escort goes down the row first, then my wife, and then me. Guess who doesn’t realize how light the trays are when you try to move them down so you can sit, and the whole thing goes BANG! That would be me. We quietly giggled and sat down. I made an entrance.
Literally about 1 minute after Tray Gate, the door opens and in walks Kyle Shanahan. THANK GOD Tray Gate happened before he walked in, were my exact thoughts. He goes up to the podium quietly and then he glances at us in the corner with another WHO ARE YOU question marked in his eyebrows, before moving back to the media.
Questions ensued from the media. Shanahan was direct but apparently pretty funny as my wife kept quietly giggling. Maybe it’s because he has a dry sense of humor like I do? That’s going to be my theory.
Then we have George Kittle who is still in his gear and has arms the size of Kansas. My arms want to be like his when they grow up. I thought he was pretty funny as well. We also got DeForest Buckner and I had to really hold in the Oregon sign that I wanted to give him so badly as we were not allowed to ask anything. I’m really proud as a Duck fan to see him develop on the NFL level.
Then enter stage left Richard Sherman who is dressed like he was ready for the cover of GQ. He is not obviously as a big a guy as Buckner but his personality definitely introduces itself to the room. He answers questions like he is giving a sermon in church and without realizing it, my wife and I kept nodding and looking at each other like mmhmm. He should run for office after he retires in my opinion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjdfCOm4yVo
Finally, before the door opens for the next interview, we hear in the hallway, “JIMMY!!!” and lots of cheers. Then the door open and Jimmy and his hair walk up to the podium carrying a backpack like he just got finished with class. He answers questions in his typical ‘one game at a time’ way and then leaves out into the hallway.
We are now finished and the escort gives us our phones back. I just hit the power button to re-start my phone as we exit the door and there is Jimmy taking a picture with a few servicemen in uniform. I look at my phone. I look at Jimmy. I look at my phone. It won’t power quick enough. My wife reaches out and shakes his hand. I shake his hand and tell him good game. His smile is about 150,000 watts as he says thank you. He turns and picks up his backpack he had on the floor and swings it over his shoulder.
Now we are back home and we both have colds. We have decided that we got it from Jimmy G. It is most likely from any number of thousands of fans we encountered but we like this version better.