Faithful Features: Family Over Everything
Jose Aguilar is the type of Faithful who, after talking to him once, instantly becomes your friend for life.
Jose’s been a season ticket holder since Levi’s Stadium opened, back when fans were able to fill the new, shiny bleachers in 2014. He lives in Reno, Nevada, which is roughly 260 miles away from Levi’s. If you didn’t know, that’s where Colin Kaepernick played college.
“[Kaepernick] used to work at the Silver & Blue Outfitters store in the mall,” Jose recalls. “And I went in the store to buy my dad a football jersey—his football jersey—as a father’s day gift. And sure enough, he was there.”
Jose asked him to sign his dad’s name on it, but Kap was unable to for NCAA purposes.
“He’s like, ‘But I get off at 1:30. If you want to meet me outside the store, I’ll be glad to go ahead and sign it.’”
Well, Jose forgot to meet him at 1:30pm.
Around 2:35, he decided to go by the store anyway and sure enough, Kap was there, waiting to sign his dad’s jersey.
“My dad has it to this day,” Jose beamed.
He’s been a 49ers Faithful ever since he can remember. Jose grew up in Central America, so his step dad, Joel, took a little persuading when it came to football.
“He just thought it was a whole bunch of meatheads going after a ball.”
Even so, those ball-chasing meatheads mean the world to the Aguilar family—especially on game day. From the time Jose leaves his home to the moment he’s back in his Red and Gold room, he’s gone for roughly 12 hours.
“I’ve got little ones and I work the next day,” he said. “But that’s that loyalty of that fan base. That sense of pride.”
Pride is an understatement. Have you seen Jose’s 49ers Cave?
At first, I knew him simply as Battle Born on my Twitter. We had connected before the bright shining lights of Sports Illustrated All49ers when I was still trying to find myself in this industry. Jose sent me a video message of the now notorious Red and Gold room, his daughter playing in the background.
The room is stunning.
But that wasn’t what caught my attention. My ears perked up when I heard his voice. It felt as though Jose was speaking to me like one of his close friends. He was genuine and kind. And out of all the people on social media, somehow I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of a special moment featuring a true Faithful, just admiring his happy place alongside his beautiful child.
I immediately felt welcome in Jose’s home.
Isn’t that what being a Faithful is all about? To not only rock our red and white jerseys every Sunday, but to metaphorically enter each other’s homes. Whether it is a 49ers-themed sports cave in Reno, an Italianate in the heart of the Bay Area, or even a 419-square foot condo (that doubles as a shoebox) in Toronto, Canada.
Each football season, the Faithful come together in a way I’ve never seen before in a fan base. In fact, the 49ers Faithful community is so much more than just that.
They’re the 49ers Faithful Family. Triple F, if you will.
This year has been insanely different for fans all over the NFL, considering many teams aren’t welcoming fans into their stadiums due to the state of the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID’s like the Grinch who tried to steal Christmas by taking away gifts, decorations and even the Roast Beast. Sometimes, it takes a worldwide crisis to band us together in ways that might not have been possible before.
And even though the tailgates and table-breaking—or is that only in Buffalo?—have been stolen from us this season, it’s impossible to take the spirit out of the Faithful.
Jose is living proof. I mean, since he couldn’t go to Levi’s this year, he brought the stadium to him.
“When you have pride in something, you have a sense of ownership. So you always tend to gravitate and take care of the stuff you feel you’ve owned by earning, then kind of just having. And I feel like—at least for the Faithful—it’s like, friendships grew off Twitter.
“We can’t understand what everybody’s going through, but we know everybody’s going through something. So, to be able to connect on a different level from different sides of the world…and give that positive vibe and kind of distract from what’s really going on. To me, that’s big.”
Empathy runs through Jose's veins.
He served for a little less than four years with the Marine Corps and would still be serving today if it weren’t for a minor injury he sustained. But Jose says 2020 in particular has been extremely humbling. He stays strong for his two children who, just like daddy, belong to the 49ers Faithful.
I’ve seen photos of his kids and I could just feel their love.
It’s no surprise that Jose’s biggest inspiration comes in the form of his stepfather. Joel came into his life when he was three-years old and showed him one of the best qualities a human can possess: empathy.
“I don’t know where I’d be without him. Honestly.”
I think the great dads in this world are super underrated.
Because without knowing it, they teach us how to be all the good things they are. We grow up with them and witness the kind acts, like carrying an old lady’s groceries to her car; we see them reach out to people—even complete strangers on Twitter—just to hold their hand when they’re feeling blue.
Jose is like that, too.
I see it in the way he is with his own kids. He glows when he talks about them. And damn, they all look amazing in 49ers red.
After speaking with Jose, I think I have his dad, Joel, to thank for creating such a special person who not only has become a close friend of mine, but also reminds me every day that there are genuine, empathetic people out there, just like me.
At the end of the day, what does it mean to be a Faithful? Well, Jose summed it up pretty nicely for us all:
“We’re family.”
Jose is the reason I started the Faithful Features. He’s a dedicated fan, an amazing friend and the definition of a 49ers Faithful. But most importantly, he’s a dad.
“Before anything; before faithful, before son, before brother, co-worker: I’m a dad. [My kids] rely on me to make sure that they get the tools they need to be a better version of me.
“That’s who I aim to be.”
Follow Jose on Twitter: @mar1ne0811
