49er faithful in Sacramento share in excitement, heartbreak at Hilltop Tavern, other bars

A legion of San Francisco 49er faithfuls converged on Hilltop Tavern, where Sunday’s hopes for Super Bowl glory, wagers won and a baby’s middle name were dashed by the Kansas City Chiefs come-from-behind victory.

The red-and-gold fandom turned out in droves at the East Sacramento bar, where the peaks and valleys of a game that didn’t seem so tightly contested drew cheers, celebratory shots and a deepening silence as the fourth quarter turnaround took hold.

“I’m going to be here here until halftime. Then I’m going to go home to yell at my TV,” said Gail Hannon, a 49er fan since the age of 6, clad in a Vernon Davis jersey, who recalled working at the Niners’ old stomping grounds, Candlestick Park, in high school during the 1973 and ‘74 seasons.

Hannon clanged her wedding ring against her Tito’s and tonic as she applauded the 49ers tying up the score in the second quarter.

“A lot of the talking heads are calling it the other way, but I think they’ve got it wrong,” Hannon said.

Hannon predicted that the last team with the ball would come away victorious, and though the Niners did hold the ball at the end of the game, a turnover on downs foiled the team’s chances to enter the pantheon of 49er teams who walked away from the big game triumphantly in 1982, ’85, ’89, ’90 and ’95.

James Kummer, a Bay Area transplant now living in Sacramento, recalled the glory years of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Steve Young, who brought championship pedigrees to San Francisco, with an eagerness to celebrate another championship 25 years removed from the team’s last title.

“I’ve been dying for another ring. We’ve come close a few times, but tonight we’ve got another chance,” Kummer said. “If they win, I’m going as hard as I can until I go to work tomorrow.”

Chris Grant and Brittany Rozzano, a couple expecting their first child in late March, shared plans to hyphenate their names following their marriage, as well as the guarantee that their son would be bestowed with tight end George Kittle’s last name should the Niners win the Super Bowl. Alas, the world may never meet Cooper Kittle Rozzano-Grant.

“Only if they win,” the mother-to-be said.

Grant donned a Jimmy Garoppolo jersey, while he fist-bumped strangers, took celebratory shots and responded to chants of, “Let’s go, Niners,” following a Raheem Mostert touchdown in the third quarter, putting the team up 20-10.

Mike and Charmayne Ladd frequent the East Sac haunt and spoke of a wager between the couple and an employee at another one of their nearby stops, The Shack.

“He’s kind of a Brady fanboy, which means he’s a Garoppolo hater. So if the Niners win, he has to wear a Niners hat. If the Chiefs win, I have to give him 20 bucks. He was strapped, so I had to figure out a deal for him,” Mike said.

Ladd said he would celebrate by wearing a Kyle Shanahan-style Niner hat, which had been delivered to his home the morning before the game.

“I didn’t wear it here because I didn’t want to jinx it, but if they win I’m going to be wearing it all week,” Mike said.

Everyone’s exuberance ran out of steam, just like the team. It all came down to the final minute.

The Niners took control of the ball, down by 4. An ominous silence fell over the crowd, punctuated only by a pint glass shattering to the ground during a commercial break.

Then, it was all over. The only thing left incomplete was their drinks and tabs.

Since the 49ers are already heavily favored to return to the Super Bowl next year, maybe bringing the hat wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 8:57 PM.