YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    This story comes from Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s biggest stories.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    Lifelong 49ers Fan Turns 2,500-Mile Trip into 25

    Ohio 49ers Fan Uses Distance from Favorite Team to His Advantage

    By | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Sat, Feb 2, 2013

    Yahoo News asked big-time fans of the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens to send in photos that show the wacky and fanatic side of sports fandom. Here's one.

    It wasn't exactly stalking, but it felt like it. I've loved the 49ers ever since that fateful day in 1985 at the ripe old age of 7. My aunt was rooting for "the Dolphins and Dan Marino." My response: "I'm rooting for the red and gold team and that Joe guy!" I've watched every 49ers play since then, and outside of three away games I'd never seen a 49er in person -- that was about to change.

    49ers ownership resides in Youngstown, Ohio, and a friend in the media told me the team was staying in town and knew the exact hotel. No longer were they a 2,500-mile pipe dream -- now just a mere 25. I had to go to that hotel.

    I told myself if I couldn't meet them, I had to at least see them. Peeking inside the entrance, 2 players were watching ESPN. My heart drops. "No autographs," security says.

    I compose myself and walk to the bar for a drink and hope for the best. Just then a 6'8, 320-pound giant walks in. A fellow Buckeye and 49er -- Alex Boone! He signs my shirt, takes a picture, slaps me five, and I need a tissue. No. 1 on the bucket list was officially eliminated; a win Sunday eliminates No. 2. Go 49ers!

    Loading...

    More US News

     

    News for You »

    • Lobbying in American-US Airways deal focuses on small cities

      By Karen Jacobs (Reuters) - US Airways Group and American Airlines , seeking approval for a merger that would create the world's largest airline, are warning lawmakers that a requirement to divest certain airport slots would lead to less service for small and medium-sized cities, sources close to the effort told Reuters. The airlines may be required to shed slots Washington's Reagan National Airport to prevent market domination. There is concern that those slots could go to rivals, such as JetBlue Airways , which would likely use them for flights to major cities. ...

    • No Wonder Republican Criticism of Obama Isn’t Working

      Henny Youngman, the late borscht belt comedian, told hundreds of politically incorrect jokes. One of them was his response when asked, “How’s your wife?” “Compared to what?” he’d say.

    • Woman feared Iowa kidnapping suspect's release

      IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The ex-girlfriend of a man suspected of kidnapping two Iowa girls this week worried that he would harm her and her family before his impending release from prison in 2011, citing prior sexual and physical abuse and threats, according to court records released Friday.

    • Woman accused of contaminating daughter's IV tubes

      TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A prosecutor says a woman on trial in Tucson contaminated her hospitalized infant daughter's intravenous lines in an attempt to get attention from the girl's father.

    • California reveals prices for health insurance under Obamacare

      By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California unveiled prices on Thursday that consumers will pay for a selection of health plans offered through the state under the Affordable Care Act, providing a glimpse into how health care reform may look as it is rolled out across the nation. Under the federal health care reform law, Californians who do not get or cannot afford health insurance through their jobs can buy coverage through an exchange, at a group rate negotiated by state regulators. ...

    • Another patent suit bites the dust: Motorola can’t ban Xbox

      The good news with patent suits is that even when they’re successful they very rarely result in outright sales bans of popular products. And now Ars Technica reports that yet another attempt to enforce a sales ban has fallen flat on its face, this time Motorola’s attempt to stop sales of Microsoft’s Xbox. According to Ars, Motorola filed suit against Microsoft back in 2010 because its Xbox allegedly infringed upon Motorola patents that detailed technologies for “video transmission and compression as well as Wi-Fi.” Motorola’s quest against the Xbox ended this week, however, when a six-person panel at the International Trade Commission decided to toss out the company’s complaint. A Microsoft spokesperson described the ITC’s decision as “a win for

    • Sweden's Inexplicable Riots, Explained

      For the fifth straight night, rioters have broken windows and set fire to cars in neighborhoods around Stockholm, Sweden. The violence fits the pattern, if not the scale, of other recent incidents in European cities, drawing renewed attention to the interplay of immigration, economics, and government.

    • Why is AT&T milking subscribers for an extra $500 million? ‘Because they can’

      AT&T said earlier this week that it will add a new administrative fee to each of its wireless subscribers’ monthly bills. The fee is only $0.61, which doesn’t sound like much, and an AT&T spokesperson was quick to point out to several news sites that this new fee is lower than similar fees charged by rival carriers. Subscribers were still outraged. Now that the shouting has died down a bit, however, people are looking for a batter explanation for the new charge they’ll see each month. According to one industry watcher, that explanation couldn’t be simpler: “Because they can.” “Why would AT&T do this? Because they can, and it is all in the pricing strategy,” Joe Hoffman, principal analyst at ABI Research

    Show More
    Loading...

    Follow Yahoo! News