I miss Candlestick Park

Candlestick Park was its own character in San Francisco 49ers lore.

I miss Candlestick Park.

It was an old hunk of concrete that was long outdated before the 49ers played their final season there in 2013, but there was something special about it that isn’t easily replicable.

What’s left of the 49ers’ old stomping grounds is a flat piece of land near Hunter’s Point in San Francisco where a fortress, to borrow a phrase from former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, for a five-time Super Bowl champion once stood.

The sudden yearning for the halcyon days of long bathroom lines, small video boards, bad sound systems, strong winds and overcast skies isn’t random. There’s always a piece of Candlestick that stays with anyone who spent time watching football or baseball there. The ‘Stick is always in the back of our minds, but a tweet from 95.7 The Game’s Joe Shasky, less than 24 hours after the 49ers temporarily relocated to Glendale, Ariz. because of COVID-19 shutdowns in Santa Clara County, put a spotlight on the empty space Candlestick left behind for 49ers fans when the team permanently relocated to Santa Clara.

Levi’s Stadium is good and 49ers fans brought a ton of energy to it last year when the team went on its run to the Super Bowl. Candlestick was different though. It was the perfect football stadium.

It was grimy, dark and cold for a visitor, but for a 49ers fan it was home — a best friend who was always up to weather the elements, get loud and party for four quarters. It lacked amenities that Levi’s Stadium has in abundance like bathrooms or space to walk. There were times watching games there was an outright chore, but that was part of its charm. It was there to host a football game for a few hours and nothing else. Fans were to leave their luxurious desires for maximum comfort at the door.

The electricity and the vibe that rippled through the 69,732 seats was generated in part by the stadium itself. It was a character in the screenplay two football teams orchestrated for eight-to-10 weekends every fall. Stories of the great 49ers teams that began in the early 80s can’t be told without their home stadium prominently featured.

Now it’s gone, and all that’s left of it are the memories like the one Shasky posted Thursday morning, or this photo of me and my friend Andrew watching Jerry Rice and the 49ers beat Peyton Manning and the Colts in 1998.

Anyone who spent even one game watching football at Candlestick Park (or 3Com Park, or San Francisco Stadium, or Monster Park) knew there was something special about it. The lucky few who saw moments like The Catch, or The Catch II, or Vernon Davis’ game-winner against the Saints in the 2012 divisional playoffs, or NaVorro Bowman’s Pick-6 against the Falcons in the stadium’s final game, got to see it flex its muscles as an elite generator of unforgettable moments.

Candlestick, at its core, was perfect. There may never be anything like it again in the Bay Area. The 49ers have moved on, and their quest for a sixth Super Bowl continues without the stadium that housed their first five titles, but it’s still worth remembering, because I’m always going to miss it.

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