49ers Faithful family fans spends nerve-racking Sunday cheering team to comeback victory at Levi's
Niners fans span generations. One family that CBS News Bay Area spent time with at the NFC Championship Game Sunday has roots that extend back to the days of Kezar Stadium.
Before they could celebrate the 49ers' NFC Championship win, Aaron Ledford and his family spent a day filled with jitters at Levi's Stadium as they watched the team take on the Lions at home.
"Kind of a shaky start, but they're getting in their groove," Ledford told CBS News Bay Area.
Ledford has seen this sort of first half difficult before, but he never gives up hope. A lifelong fan, the game is more than a title; it is part of his family history dating back five generations.
"I can't even remember when we first started coming to games," he explained. "But my grandparents started, [then my] parents, and now our kids. It's a family event for us. Gets everyone together."
Sunday morning, the family made the hours long trip down to Levi's stadium from Vacaville. It's a trip the whole family makes every single home game.
"10:30 a.m.," Ledford said in a video he recorded on the drive down. "It's quiet back there. Everyone's a bit tense. Why is that?"
Their anticipation and case of nerves continued throughout the game as they celebrated the highest highs and the lowest lows together as a family.
"It's cool, because we spend the time together," Ledford said. "Everyone's going their own ways and the kids are working, but at least we know on Sundays, we can all be here."
The Ledford family fandom started with his grandparents, who had Niners tickets going back to the 1950s when the team played at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
"I'm sure my grandfather's watching and loving the fact that we're all here together," Ledford said.
Sunday night, four generations of his family witnessed the Niners pull out a nail-biting comeback victory to earn another trip to the Super Bowl to face their rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs.
"I just want my team to experience what we did in the '80s and early '90s: getting a Super Bowl win," said Ledford.