Avid 49ers fan gains fame for documenting Levi's Stadium tailgate celebrations
The 49ers lost Sunday's game with the Jacksonville Jaguars and while the outcome may have been a disappointment for the fans, it didn't affect the pregame tailgating parties. One avid fan began documenting the parking lot celebrations and ended up as a bit of a celebrity at Levi's Stadium.
"Basically, I go around to tailgates at Levi's and capture everyone just having fun," said Ken Guanga. "Then I put everyone together in one video, right?"
Guanga was already a video producer when he decided to take his skills to the Levi's tailgating parking lots. And just like in the movies, he always wants to be a director.
Guanga has developed a real following on Instagram, which makes him popular with the fans and with sponsors. The Gold Bar Whiskey company provides him with plenty of free samples that he wheels around in a cooler, passing them out at tailgates. He and another fellow blogger and friend, Raj Melwani, have become genuine "influencers" among 49er fans.
"We get so many brands that come to us because we have such a big reach, that they want to put their brand on our page," said Melwani. "They give away stuff. They send us tickets to the games. So, it's like a business now."
And now, just about everyone welcomes Guanga to their pre-game parties.
"I love this guy. That's my favorite right there," said a man named "Niner Frank," giving him a hug.
"He has made friends," said Margie Carrington, one of his original tailgate buddies. "He takes pictures of other people's tailgates, posts 'em on Instagram, the different food that they have. So, he definitely gets the vibe going."
And when it came to food, the vibe was definitely going at the "3rd Rail 9ers" tailgate, where, just about every home game, you can find founder and chef George Astin.
"So, we've been doing this for 24 years," he said. "I've missed four home games in 20 years."
Astin makes his party a gourmet affair, tailoring each week's menu to the location of the opposing team.
"So, Jacksonville," he said on Sunday, "I don't know how much homegrown cuisine they have, but we figure it's Gulf. We're going to make prawns and we're going to do surf and turf."
That meant tri-tip and shrimp sautéed in butter, with Guanga capturing the moment for this week's online posting. Now, he's an invited guest at just about any parking lot party, and his followers use his blog as a kind of tailgate travel guide.
Guanga said he was a casual 49er fan until he happened to buy his home in Santa Clara the same year the team announced their move there. Now he is a season ticket holder and can walk to the stadium to record his tailgate documentaries.
"It's super fun," he said. "I look forward to football season. And when we're winning, it elevates everything else, right?"
But when it comes to the pre-game parties, does it really matter if the 49ers are winning or not?
"That's the whole thing about tailgating," he said. "Hey, I can go to a tailgate and if you lose, I can say, like, Niners may have lost, but I had a great time at the tailgate."