While most San Francisco 49ers fans heading to Las Vegas this weekend for Super Bowl LVIII already have their golden ticket to the game, longtime fan Erika Mendoza is going empty-handed, hoping Sin City gives her the luck of the draw.
Even before the 49ers secured their spot in the big game, the Modesto resident had her flights and hotel booked.
“I’m just going to throw it out to the universe and see if it’s meant to be, and we’ll go from there,” Mendoza recalls thinking.
The plan was to go with her husband and brother and attend one of the many watch parties on the Las Vegas Strip — regardless of who was playing. For the past several years, Mendoza has attended a few games a year with her brother, and even traveled to Philadelphia in 2023 to watch the 49ers play the Eagles in the NFC Championship game.
But when the 49ers stamped their ticket to the Super Bowl to face the reigning champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, Mendoza knew she had to be among the other Faithful at Allegiant Stadium.
Now, Mendoza and her family are going “full force.”
With the median cost of one ticket at $8,599 on Thursday, according to data from ticket reseller VividSeats, Mendoza’s hoping to win her way in. She said she’s entered around ten sweepstakes from the Tyler Robinson Foundation to Budlight.
“I think I would probably start crying,” she said if she ended up winning tickets. “It would really be the opportunity of a lifetime.”
While some 49ers fans are hoping to just get a taste of the Super Bowl action at a watch party in Las Vegas, attending the big game has become somewhat of a tradition for others.
For Michael Maxey of Campbell, this will be his second Super Bowl. He traveled to Miami for Super Bowl LIV in 2020 with his dad. Now, four years later, he’ll be flying solo after receiving the ticket as a Christmas gift.
“I said after the last one I wouldn’t go again,” he said reflecting on the 49ers’ heartbreaking 31-20 loss to the Chiefs. “But I couldn’t miss the opportunity, the chance to see it.”
This time though, he’s hoping the flight home will be a lot more celebratory.
“It was a long trip and a hard pill to swallow on a loss,” Maxey, who flew out of Miami at 5 o’clock in the morning after Super Bowl LIV, said.
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When Jim Downey bought his Super Bowl XVI ticket in 1982 to watch the 49ers play the Cincinnati Bengals, it cost him $40. Now, more than four decades later, he’ll be attending his sixth 49ers Super Bowl with his brother and two grown sons, Sean and Patrick.
As a lifelong fan and season ticket holder, the team — and sports in general — has become a passion for Downey and his family.
“About three or four months ago, my wife says you’ve gone to these Super Bowls, you’ve gone with your brother, you’ve gone with your friends, I want you to build some memories with your boys,” Downey said.
So, his wife booked the flights and hotel, and this week, Downey finally locked down his tickets. Though the crowd may not be as electric and full of 49ers Faithful as it was during the NFC Championship game several weeks ago, the San Jose resident said he’s most looking forward to spending that time sitting next to his sons.
But regardless of the outcome on Sunday night, Downey is set on making an experience out of it — he already has his eyes on a 20 oz bone-in ribeye at his favorite Las Vegas steakhouse. Smoking a nice cigar with his sons might also be in the plans, he said.
“You got to celebrate just in case we don’t end up with a W,” he said. “You got to make sure you’re having fun all the way through until the game ends. If it doesn’t happen to be a 49ers victory, we still had a great time.”
