Eye of the Niner: Manteca man's 49ers prosthetic eye ready to watch Super Bowl win
MANTECA — Rey Pena has been a San Francisco 49ers fan since his dad took him to his first game when he was 5 years old. Since then, he has cheered on Sourdough Sam and the team through decades of ups and downs.
"I've been a 49ers fan my entire life. My first game was back in 1987," Pena said. "They call me Eye of the Niner."
They call him Eye of the Niner for an obvious reason: the 49ers team logo he had printed onto the prosthetic eye he wears in honor of the team. His story, however, is not all that meets the eye. After being injured as a child, he battled health problems, including eye surgeries that were off and on until he was diagnosed with cancer at just 30 years old.
"I had to remove my eye within six months, or it was going to spread to both my eyes," Pena said. "I asked him, I asked the doctor, can I have a 49ers eye, that's how diehard of a fan I am."
Pena was selected as the NFL's 49ers Fan of the Year for 2022 and has enough memorabilia to fill his four-car garage. He is gearing up to go to head to Super Bowl 58 to watch his beloved 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs with his own two eyes.
Pena is also an aspiring rapper who goes by his fan name Eye of the Niner. In addition to putting out his own music, he's also been featured on a number of tracks.
"Our fan base has more songs and anthems than you can think of. We're not Niner Nation, we're Niner Empire," Pena said.
His home is filled with memorabilia from handwritten letters from John Lynch thanking him for being a dedicated fan. He has a brick from when the first stadium opened, signed shoes, jerseys and plenty more collectibles taken in through the decades.
This diehard fan is seeing red and gold and hopes to watch the team take home the Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas.