Now that I’ve settled down a little bit, I can post about the game. Last Sunday, Nov. 12^th, I went to an NFL game with my friend Andy. He’s really awesome. We went to see the 49ers play against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank stadium in Jacksonville. Attending to a professional football game has always been a dream of mine. It’s felt like a goal that was out of reach for many reasons. Firstly, the lack of accessibility and mobility. When you are disabled, figuring out the logistics of getting from one place to another can be a giant headache. Plus, tickets to a professional event like that are quite expensive. I ended up taking some money out of savings so that I could go to the game. I was able to get us really good seats.

I could see the entire football field. Because of my disability I have some significant visual impairments, but even I was able to see pretty well from where I was sitting. To be honest with you, there were a few times I lost sight of the football. As a result. I forgot who was on offense and who was on defense. All I could really see was that a herd of white jerseys were running away from or chasing a herd of teal jerseys. The game atmosphere was amazing. I’m happy that the 49ers won because they’ve always been my team. However, as a local, long-suffering sports fan I’m also sad that the Jaguars lost. I don’t know how you can hold these two opposing views together in your mind but I’ve managed.

There were so many nice people at the game. I wore my old school Frank Gore jersey to the game. It was the first jersey that my parents were able to afford to buy me as a Christmas present. At the time, I remember wanting a replica football jersey instead, but those are cost prohibitive. In retrospect, the less authentic jersey ended up working out better for me because the nylon material is much more breathable.

Since I sit in my wheelchair all day, I’m particular when it comes to fits and fabrics. You don’t want to wear something that’s so tight that it rolls up in the back. On the other hand, you don’t want to wear a size so big that it rubs against your skin. There’s not a lot of space between your back and the wheelchair’s back cushion.  You would think that since I’m a FL native, I’d be used to the heat, but I’m not and that’s a major issue because I get sick when I’m overheated. My think leg braces and thick socks add a lot of extra weight and heat. The less authentic Niners jersey ended up being more comfortable for me. Less money and more comfort? Sign me up!

I’ve been a 49ers fan since I was a little kid. I’m sure you’re thinking, “How can you be a fan of a California team when you’re from Florida?” This is a fair point. However, my parents originally lived in California and I was born there so I inherited my love of the 49ers from those factors.

I like rooting for underdog teams. You’re thinking, “How can the 49ers be in underdog team when they’ve won five Super Bowls?” This is another solid point. However, what most people fail to consider is I wasn’t alive for 4 of those 5 victories. The one victory I was alive for occurred when I was 4 years old and hardly able to watch football. I was a fan when they were in the post dynasty, re-building phase of the organization. Please believe me when I tell you, I’ve watched a lot of terrible football over the years from my team. I know other fans have it much worse but it doesn’t matter. My point is I’m not just some bandwagon fan now that they’re doing well.

I was a fan when they had no name quarterbacks that were terrible passers. For a while they had some pretty bad all-around football teams. Post Steve Young, I felt like they’ve never had a real quarterback until this moment. You could argue that Jeff Garcia was a real quarterback but to me he was above average but didn’t play on the team long enough to hit his peak. He was a really good 49ers quarterback but not “The guy.”

Alex Smith is a phenomenal human being whose story I respect, but the majority of his time in San Francisco was turbulent to say the least. He was incredibly inconsistent and a boring quarterback to watch in my opinion. Kaepernick is a social justice icon. For that, I respect what he did. I was a big fan when he played for the 49ers. However, a lot of people fail to remember what he looked like after the Super Bowl run. The whole team was kind of falling apart. He did not play well. He asked to leave the 49ers. Their organization was in disarray. Jimmy G, is a very attractive man. However, I think he’s a bad quarterback. I think he’s a great teammate because he always supported everyone on the team and had a great attitude but for me, he was never the franchise guy. His jawline is franchise material. That’s for sure, but aside from his good looks, I’m glad he’s not their quarterback.

Besides, I’m more of a fan of defensive players. The offense tends to consist of pretty boys that get all the attention.I like the guys that have to do the dirty work. Frank Gore had a subdued personality. He would bulldoze right over people and then barely say 2 words after. It was kind of amazing. I like big flashy guys too but I’m just a big football fan in general. My favorite player on the 49ers right now is Dre Greenlaw. He plays linebacker for the 49ers. He hits people directly on and knows how to properly tackle. He doesn’t do the one-arm tackle thing. He squares people up and is able to wrap his opponents up. He’s a fundamentally sound player. He’s often injured but when he’s on the field he’s a HUGE difference maker.

Right now, the Niners quarterback is Brock Purdy. For those who don’t know, the last pick of each draft is nicknamed Mr. Irrelevant. Purdy was picked last in the 2022 NFL draft. It is astronomically difficult for someone that far down in the draft to become a starting quarterback. It’s practically unheard of. The last pick rarely makes an NFL roster, much less a starting spot on the roster.

In 2023, their starting quarterback, Trey Lance, went down with a season ending injury. Jimmy took over for him but also went down with a season ending injury. Purdy stepped into the starting role in December of 2023. He crushed it and led them to the NFC championship game against the Eagles during his rookie season. It was a historic performance. Purdy, who started as a third-string, nearly undrafted player made it into the starting lineup. Not only that, but they were one game away from making it to the Super Bowl during his rookie season. Unfortunately for fans and the team, Purdy was brutally injured during his game against the Eagles. It was a freak accident but my man got hit as he was throwing and tore up his arm and elbow really bad. It was really gross to witness.  Yuck.

Especially as a fan of the team, a fan of Purdy’s historic journey, it felt like an arrow through my heart. Not in a cute, loving, Cupid sort of way, but in a heartbreaking way. He went down and his entire arm went numb. He was unable to feel his entire arm, which prevented him from throwing at all.The 49ers had no choice but to throw Josh Johnson, our fourth string quarterback into the starting lineup for the NFC championship game against the Eagles. If you know anything about football, then you know that this never happens. The fourth-string quarterback is basically a roster filler. They aren’t supposed to play at all much less in a title game. As you might imagine, Johnson didn’t play well at all.

But guess what? There was even worse news. Johnson was on the receiving end of a Game ending concussion hit. Medically, he was legally not allowed to play anymore, the 49ers literally had no quarterbacks left on the roster during the game that would decide the Super Bowl matchup. I was in shambles. They had no choice but to put their running back, who had never been a quarterback, Christian McCaffrey into the starting spot for the quarterback position. It went as bad as you would expect. They didn’t stand a chance. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those whiny fans that blames the refs or the game situation on their loss. However, it’s hard to imagine that things wouldn’t go drastically different have they had an actual quarterback playing in the game. Congrats to the Eagles and all that, but man I wish things had gone so differently.

Fast forward to now. My man Purdy is fully healed from his season ending injury. I couldn’t be more excited. As a disabled person I’ve always felt like an underdog because every fight seems to be uphill. So, for me. Purdy is someone who I can identify with because he was never supposed to be there. Andy and I went to see Poltergeist with my dad. He casually mentioned that the Jaguars were going to play against the 49ers in a few weeks. My ears perked up. Oh my God really? You guys don’t understand. The Jaguars and 49ers are in different divisions. They rarely play each other. Most of the time when they play each other they play in San Francisco, so there’s no way I could possibly see them in person. But holy crap, they were playing in my home state. Together with my dad’s help I frantically looked for accessible seating in the Jaguars stadium so that I could buy tickets.

One thing that’s really important to know is that accessible seating is extremely limited to begin with.  What I discovered through my initial research is that there is more accessible seating then what’s listed as such on the Jaguars ticketing website.  There are only a few accessible seating options shown on the stadium map.  However, if you call them, they will tell you that there are many more accessible seats in the stadium which aren’t highlighted as such.   The ones that were highlighted on the Jaguars stadium map were already bought out.  I was heartbroken because I thought there’s no way I could make it to the game.  However, I called their stadium back and was able to get a hold of one of their employees that told me about the accessible seating that wasn’t highlighted on their website map.

I wrote down by hand each seat that was accessible.  By the time.  I started purchasing tickets on the Jaguars Ticketmaster website, the ones that were actually listed as ADA seats were gone.  So, I frantically went to the StubHub website which is the third-party website for fans to resell their tickets.  I went line by line and compared my complete list of ADA seats with the tickets available on StubHub. Unfortunately.  StubHub does not allow users to filter the available seats in order of the lettering they’ve been assigned.  You can filter it by “best seating” or lowest ticket cost.  But there’s no way to filter it in a way that would allow you to look for ADA seating in order.  So, let’s say the seating goes, A1, A2, A3 etc.

There’s no way to filter it so it shows like that.  All of the seating was listed out of order.  So, my dad and I had to frantically compare my word document of ADA seats to a bunch of seats out of order of where they’re located.  We had to snatch one up before they were bought out.  By the time we found one they were two to three times more than a regular ADA ticket.  Honestly, it was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a silly NFL game.  However, I may never get to see the 49ers play anyone in my state during my lifetime.  So, I paid a stupid amount and snatched up two seats next to each other for Andy and I.  Victory was mine!  We were going to the game.

Fast forward to last Sunday’s game.  All of that heartache and hassle was worth it.  I could see the entire field right in front of me.  I could see the football players and hear the fans roar.  There were actually more 49ers fans in the Jaguars home stadium then Jaguar fans.  You could tell by the jerseys that they were wearing.  After the game, I was super stoked about my team winning during my first ever NFL game. My friend Andy and I entered an elevator that contained mostly Jaguars fans.  I was trying to hide my excitement because I know how much it hurts when your team loses.  They said, ” You must be happy that the 49ers won?”  I replied that I was but I didn’t want to gloat because I knew they were Jaguars fans and that would be mean.  I told them that it was my first game and then I was really excited to be there.  The Jaguars fans all smiled and said you go on and gloat.  Be happy!  They all smiled, gave me a hug and told me they were happy that I was there.

It was like a scene from a movie on the Hallmark Channel except it was in real life and they were totally sincere even though the Jaguars had been blown out badly by my team. I felt so happy.  People really were nice.  I felt special not because I was in a wheelchair but because I was at a football game with other people that were as excited as I was.  I don’t think they were nice to me just because I was in a wheelchair.  They were nice because they were genuinely happy for me.  Those sorts of things are so rare in my everyday life.

I couldn’t believe it.  The moment is crystallized in my mind forever.  I’m thankful for all of the nice Jaguars’ fans that were happy for me.  I was thrilled when we went to the convenience store and there were a bunch of people wearing 49ers jerseys that all cheered when I came in because I was also wearing a 49ers jersey.  It seemed surreal but awesome.  It’s the kind of experience I wish for everyone to have.  Regardless of whether or not they like sports. I hope you have an experience like that in your lifetime.  I sincerely hope I get to go to a 49ers game again to experience that.  It’s unlikely but so is everything else in this story that I’m telling you.  I only believe it because I lived it.  It was a magical time.