I consider myself a diehard 49er’s fan even after the last couple of years and the blow out yesterday. My family has had season tickets to the niners since 1958. My Pappou had seats at Kezar stadium, then at Candlestick until my father took over those tickets and now we’re at Levis. So I’ve been attending niners games since I was born and I still go every week to watch my 49er’s play (and lose). Throughout my life they have had some ups and downs for sure, the three year span under Jim Harbaugh and the two years where we went 2-14 and 4-12 back to back come to mind. Although there have been worse records and arguably worse play, the lowest I’ve been as a fan were the last couple of years. It started with the release of Jim Harbaugh and the subsequent destruction from the inside by Trent Baalke/Jed York. Our team that had gone deep into the playoffs three years in a row seemed as if it was being systematically dismantled. There was no hope to be found as a niner fan. It felt as if every season was lost before it began because we had Baalke drafting players and York running the team. Leaving our home at Candlestick for Levi’s just compounded the feeling of dread. Instead of real 49er Faithful fans in the seats, there was business people barely dressed in red and gold. It was truly heartbreaking. However, things have changed this year for the better. Jed York finally woke up, fired Baalke, and brought in John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan. They have already changed the culture which was greatly needed since we were the worst culture in the NFL. Now, all of a sudden there is actual hope. It’s crazy to think that an 0-7 team coming off a 30 point loss at home has more hope than the last couple of years but it’s true. As 49er’s fans we can sense that were trending up even though the wins aren’t coming. There are players we can fall in love with now like Reuben Foster, Deforest Buckner (I’ll give Baalke that one), and one of my favorites Trent Taylor who is proving draft analysts wrong. We can trust in Lynch/Shanahan (and even maybe Jed York) to at least create a culture that players want to play in and fans are proud of. This years draft set us in the right direction and I believe next years draft will do the same. Netting Kirk Cousins and Saquon Barkley would help a lot but I do think the niners will be back in the playoffs within a couple years either way. We can only hope I’m right but we’ll take hope over whatever the hell we had the last two years right? Go niners!