By Gabe Fernandez
SFGate
VACAVILLE, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers fans had plenty of Cowboys lowlights to enjoy during the 42-10 blowout win on Sunday, but the best moment by far came from a disappointed Dallas fan in the crowd.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the national broadcast flashed to a frustrated Cowboys fan on the phone while wearing a Dallas jersey with matching gloves and a custom firefighter’s helmet. The image went viral, with many joking that the fan, named Eugene Hernandez, was calling for help on behalf of his team. Hernandez might be familiar with the concept of calling for help because, as it turns out, he’s a Vacaville firefighter.
The Vacaville Firefighters Association confirmed that Hernandez was one of their own in a Facebook post on Monday. They poked fun at the fellow emergency responder, and encouraged the people who follow their page to continue the jokes.
“If you think the internet has been harsh on him, just wait until he returns to work with all of our members who are 49er fans,” the post reads. “So, what do you think he was saying on the phone and who was he calling? Wrong answers only please.”
Hernandez had a good sense of humor about the post. He commented, “Good thing I have vacations this up coming set,” with a laughing emoji at the end.
As NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan reported Monday, Hernandez is a Lodi resident who originally hails from Texas and is a lifelong Cowboys fan. The person on the other end of the phone was his cousin, who actually ended up letting Hernandez know that he made it onto the broadcast.
Though he might root for the wrong team in this historic rivalry, 49ers fans might want him coming back to Levi’s more often. Hernandez attended the divisional playoff matchup earlier this year, a 19-12 Niners win, and told Chan he hasn’t seen the Cowboys win in Santa Clara.
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