KPIX (SAN FRANCISCO) — Sean Inglis, a supporter of the San Francisco 49ers, may have attended the same Kentfield high school as Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, but it won’t stop him from supporting the Niners on Sunday from the stands at Levi’s Stadium.
Inglis sent an email outlining his decades-long love in response to a 49ers fan club post made by CBS News Bay Area correspondent Lauren Toms. Although Inglis was raised in San Rafael and went to 49ers games with his father until the 1970s, he wasn’t initially a fan of the team, even though both of his parents were die-hard 49ers supporters who had season tickets during the Kezar Stadium period and had resided in San Francisco.They could walk to games from their apartment because Kezar was so close by.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, my dad would accompany me to games. He would receive tickets from clients or colleagues,” Inglis said via email. “Up until a midseason game against Dallas in 1981, I was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, especially Roger Staubach and Tom Landry. After the 49ers won 24-0, I asked my father if I could exchange for 49ers merchandise. He gave in. I left a true 49er fan after we put my Dallas shirt and sweats in the trash.”
It was the perfect moment for him to convert. The Niners and Cowboys met again in the legendary NFC title game rematch that Joe Montana and Dwight Clark made famous with “The Catch.” The Niners defeated Dallas 28–27 to win their first Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals.
After graduating from Arizona State, Inglis moved back to the Bay Area and settled in San Francisco in the late 1990s after purchasing 49ers season tickets.
Before NFC title games, a 49ERS devoted fan has a pre-game steak supper routine with his kid.FranciscoWritten by Dave Pehling
January 25, 2024 / CBS San Francisco / 2:39 PM PST
Sean Inglis, a supporter of the San Francisco 49ers, may have attended the same Kentfield high school as Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, but it won’t stop him from supporting the Niners on Sunday from the stands at Levi’s Stadium.
Inglis sent an email outlining his decades-long love in response to a 49ers fan club post made by CBS News Bay Area correspondent Lauren Toms. Although Inglis was raised in San Rafael and went to 49ers games with his father until the 1970s, he wasn’t initially a fan of the team, even though both of his parents were die-hard 49ers supporters who had season tickets during the Kezar Stadium period and had resided in San Francisco. They could walk to games from their apartment because Kezar was so close by.
“I walked out a full-fledged 49er fan””In the 1970s and 1980s, my dad would accompany me to games. He would receive tickets from clients or colleagues,” Inglis said via email. “Up until a midseason game against Dallas in 1981, I was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, especially Roger Staubach and Tom Landry. After the 49ers won 24-0, I asked my father if I could exchange for 49ers merchandise. He gave in. I left a true 49er fan after we put my Dallas shirt and sweats in the trash.”
It was the perfect moment for him to convert. The Niners and Cowboys met again in the legendary NFC title game rematch that Joe Montana and Dwight Clark made famous with “The Catch.” The Niners defeated Dallas 28–27 to win their first Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals.
After graduating from Arizona State, Inglis moved back to the Bay Area and settled in San Francisco in the late 1990s after purchasing 49ers season tickets.
“My mom’s boss had 50-yard line seats, which fueled my passion and desire to own them some day myself,” Inglis said.
After getting married, Inglis and his spouse, who was also a 49ers fan and whose mother was a cheerleader for the team, planned to relocate to Southern California. They purchased San Francisco Giants season tickets when the team relocated from Candlestick for the first season at what was then known as Pac Bell Park in 2000, in addition to keeping his Niners ticket package. Despite growing up in Southern California, his three children are ardent 49ers and Giants supporters.
Inglis still makes the trek to see the team at home games as well as away games, taking his wife and sons along. He and his family currently reside in Naperville, IL, outside of Chicago.
“Nolan, the youngest son, will finally witness a 49ers home playoff game and the NFC Championship. In 2020, I went with his brother Brodie. Our sophomore, Meaghan, accompanied me to the divisional playoff game against the Cowboys the previous season,” Inglis said. “And my wife’s been to many games — home and away — with me, including the ’22 win vs. the Packers at Lambeau.”
If anything, this season has seen a rise in his fandom and family outings to see the Niners play.
“I drove with our boys to Cleveland this year, and flew to Philly for the game with my brother,” Inglis said. “It just seemed like a’special’ year, made even more precious by the early passing of my mum, the kids’ grandmother.Having grown up at Kezar Stadium, she had a deep passion for the 49ers.”
A graduate of Marin Catholic, Inglis acknowledged that he is “excited for the Goffs and Jared” that the Lions are playing the 49ers in the NFC title game, but he is also “looking forward to a great game and hopefully a Niners win!”
A steak dinner the night before a playoff game is another tradition he is looking forward to.
“The night before ‘Stick competitions, we would go to Tadich Grill. Met Ronnie Lott and Carmen Policy in 2012. Now it’s Fleming’s,” Inglis remarked, referring to the customary dinner’s relocation to a steakhouse nearer to their hotel for the Levi’s Stadium game.
With “so many great memories for our kids and family,” Inglis continued.
