Thanks Dad for making me a 49ers fan

I’ll admit it: I joined the 49ers Faithful via the bandwagon.

I
became a 49ers fan because they were winning and I didn’t know much
about sports at the time. It was Jan. 1995 and the 49ers had just won
their fifth Super Bowl–the first team to achieve such a feat.

In
1995, I was a nine-year-old boy that was just getting into sports. I
had just picked up playing basketball with my friends in elementary
school and it seemed that a lot of my friends enjoyed active play
during recess.

But my biggest influence on sports may be my father.

My
father immigrated to the Bay Area from Hong Kong in 1981 and was very
fortunate to have seen the 49ers win their first Super Bowl that year.
And by trying to understand America’s sport, my father would continue
to follow the 49ers.

It was very helpful for my father to see
the 49ers win three more titles that decade. He would become a
supporter of every member of those championship teams.

Then head
coach George Seifert couldn’t compare to what Bill Walsh had
established in San Francisco. My dad made sure that I was aware of his
opinion on that matter.

When the 49ers traded Joe Montana to the
Kansas City Chiefs, my father was furious. His hero had left and was
replaced by Steve Young. Young in his own right was a great
quarterback, but his style was so different from Montana that my dad
just couldn’t accept it.

Young scrambled the instant the pocket
broke and his running style was something my dad never got accustomed
to. Rather than be a pass-first quarterback like Montana was, Young was
more of a run before you pass type of quarterback.

But as I
first started to follow football, Young was my quarterback. Montana was
traded, so I had no memories of him on the team. All I knew was that
Young was the quarterback I grew up with and I supported him.

My
dad told me that Young was a failure and tried to convince me that the
49ers would never succeed with Young under center. Even after the 49ers
won their fifth title, my dad refused to accept Young as a good
quarterback. He would constantly compare Young to Montana–an unfair
comparison, but the standard my dad held.

Actually, I shouldn’t
have been a 49ers fan. I grew up in the East Bay in Richmond. My
favorite teams were the Golden State Warriors and the Oakland
Athletics. Both of these two teams play in Oakland.

Naturally, I
should have been a Raiders fan. But at that time, the Raiders were in
Los Angeles, so the 49ers were the only football team I knew. And as
the years continued, my dad continued to egg me about Young. And for
those years, I continued to support him just to prove my dad wrong.

Thanks, Dad. Without you, I might not have been so driven to follow the 49ers at such a young age.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Joe Montana. But your hate for Steve Young made me love the 49ers that much more.

Happy Father’s Day Dad! I love you!