Despite Colin Kaepernick's Recent Struggles, Turlock Stands Behind Its Hometown Son
TURLOCK (CBS13) — Turn over the tables and you'll see how big of a San Francisco sports fan the owner of the Grizzly Rock Cafe is.
"These happen to be the booths out of Candlestick Park," Frank Sanders said.
He's also a Colin Kaepernick fan.
"Colin and my son both played little league together and then they also played together at Pitman High School on the basketball team all four years," he said.
He says a lot of people in Turlock know Kaepernick and don't think the 49ers' poor performance this year is his fault.
"The perception is, that the coaches aren't letting him be Colin," Sanders said. "You know, running, throwing, gunning, and just moving the team down the line."
At Olde Tyme Pastries, his photos are still displayed, and the No. 7 jersey cookie still sells out on game days.
"We probably don't get as many requests as we did when they were in the playoffs and Super Bowl, but Colin has a lot of support in Turlock," Cheryl Fondse said.
On the field, Colin Kaepernick may not be doing so well, but as a sandwich, he's pretty popular. Main Street Footers created the CK No. 7 in 2013 in 2013, right before the Super Bowl.
"We still recommend it as one of our favorite hot dogs," said Molly Amant. "We do have a lot of people who still order it. It's definitely not the amount of people it was before, but it still sells quite a bit."
For those who say they know him as more than a great athlete, but as a hard worker, a brilliant student and a modest kid, they'll always be rooting for him.
"Professional sports are a tough deal," said his high-school basketball coach Davis Walls. "I can speak for myself, I'm always going to be a Colin Kaepernick fan and I'm always going to hope and pray for the best for him."