Niners fan carries bond with her late father to Seattle for Seahawks showdown
SAN PABLO -- A 49ers supporter set to spend her Thanksgiving in Seattle cheering on the team says she will always be grateful for the special connection she and her late father shared as part of Niner Nation.
She may live in a small home in San Pablo, but the amount of love Shanel Roy has for the San Francisco 49ers is anything but tiny.
"I've been a 49ers fan since the day I was born," Roy said.
And that is all thanks to her dad, Marvin.
"The whole reason that I am into this at all is because of him," she said. "My dad was everything to me, and this was everything to him."
Marvin passed away in 2019. Shanel has a lifetime of memories with her father, who became a season ticket holder in the 1970s, well before she was born.
One of her favorite memories with him brings her back to 1994, when he took her to the NFC Championship Game.
"This is a game that he took me to. To this day, I'm still like, I was 11 years old, and you honored me to take me to this game. We lost and I cried, but I got to be 11 years old at a championship game against Dallas," she said. "I was just this little kid who didn't even fully understand the game yet. He was like, 'Babe, do you want to come with me?' And I was like, 'Yes! Yes I do.'"
Their shared fandom for the 49ers helped create an incredibly special father-daughter bond, one Shanel will always cherish.
"They have made my life so happy and so just fulfilled for years," she said.
So what better way to spend Thanksgiving than with the team that bond was built around? Shanel will be in the stands in Seattle, cheering on the 49ers as they take on the Seahawks on Thanksgiving Day.
"This is a way to celebrate with him," she said. "I carry him with me every day no matter what, but I get to carry him with me through this. He'd be having so much fun with me, still, if he were still here."
She filled her suitcase to the brim with as much 49ers gear as she could put in there. She plans to wear her Talanoa Hufanga jersey at the game, to show support for the player who just suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
"Just to send him our blessing for a safe and speedy recovery and to represent for him in our outfit this week," she said.
A forever faithful fan, all thanks to her father. She's grateful for the chance to represent Niner Nation in Seattle, and hopeful a big win is on the table this Thanksgiving.