This week, Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to Pro Football Hall of Famer and former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis.
In his interview with Easton Jr., Willis—on behalf of Verizon—discussed the First-Ever Super Bowl FanFest, which will bring a Super Bowl LIX experience to 30 NFL cities across the country. He also reflected on the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory over the 49ers.
“The San Francisco 49ers are the only franchise I played for in the NFL, and they have the best fans in the world,” Willis said. “Maybe I am a little biased, but we have some of the best fans in the world, and anytime I have the opportunity to be with them, be around them, celebrate with them. It’s always a great time; we had some great times together. Even though I saw him during the season, a little bit more than usual, I’m looking forward to this event (Verizon’s Super Bowl FanFest) tremendously.”
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Willis, who played his eight-year career with the 49ers from 2007-2014, reflected on last season’s Super Bowl run for San Francisco while being announced as a 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class member.
“I got chills; that was a special month, a special game, a special moment,” Willis explained. “Outside of being announced for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all while having the team that you know, blood, sweat, and tears for in the Super Bowl, it was an amazing time. I will say that, man, I thought it was just they were right there, you know, again. I know that feeling of just being that close. I thought maybe this would be the moment that play would happen, and the Niners would be able to win that sixth Super Bowl that put us, I think, put us right at the top, or with the top for most Super Bowl wins in NFL history. So it was a tough moment.”
The Chiefs won the thrilling game in overtime 25-22, with Patrick Mahomes connecting with Mecole Hardman for a touchdown, as Willis believes a key San Francisco injury affected the outcome.
“On top of that, I’m a big Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner fan, and I think that seeing Dre have his injury, as he did at a pivotal time, was a big difference,” Willis said. “I feel like things shifted a little bit when he went out of the game. It was unfortunate. But, man, it’s like that: you get that close and don’t get it done. Especially as you get older, it gets a little bit tougher each year to dig in again and go back at it. But they didn’t get it done. Unfortunately, they didn’t; as Deebo (Samuel) says, they had a Super Bowl hangover. So you know, this year didn’t go as go as well. Didn’t go well at all. They have a chance to bounce back this off-season and get some things right.”
Visit VerizonFanFest.com for a full list of events and locations and access to free tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. FanFests across the country will take place on Sunday, February 9, beginning at 4pm ET / 1pm PT.
