49ers star George Kittle, who calls Music City home during the offseason, was spotted in full Predators gear cheering on Nashville as they hosted the San Jose Sharks at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night.
While local sports franchises often support each other, should that same camaraderie extend to the players?
The San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle was spotted in attendance at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tuesday as the Nashville Predators welcomed the San Jose Sharks for an exciting evening of hockey. However, for Sharks fans and Bay Area sports fans, George Kittle was spotted rocking a preds jersey and hat while at the game. Kittle, who made quite a few cameo appearances on the Sharks NBC Sports California broadcast. Sharks broadcasters even broached the supbject with ____ stating "he should've gone with the split jersey (half sharks, half preds)" The 49ers star lives in Nashville during the off-season and I respect his appreciation for hockey however I couldnt help but feel a taste of bitterness at the 49ers player cheering on the Preds after a Preds goal which portrayed and embarrassing performance as the Sharks scored four goals in the 1st period and entered the 3rd period up 5-1 before blowing the game and giving up six unanswered goals leading the Sharks to lost 5-7. Much like the Taylor Swift craze of watching a Chiefs game, I became more and more irritated that Kittle kept being shown on TV actively rooting against the Sharks.
Bay Area sports teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, San Jose Earthquakes, and San Jose Sharks, have long maintained a tradition of publicly supporting each other. Players from these teams often attend each other’s games, and in October 2024, four Sharks players attended at a 49ers game, with the 49ers also posting a "good luck" message for the Sharks ahead of their season.
Left to right: Sharks' forwards Ty Dellandrea, Tyler Toffoli, Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini attend a 49ers game in Oct. 2024.
While professional athletes are, of course, free to support whichever teams they choose in their personal lives, their status as public figures carries a responsibility to recognize the interconnectedness of their local sports community. For someone like 49ers star George Kittle, who has a large fanbase that overlaps with that of the Sharks, showing some recognition or support for the neighboring team could have gone a long way. Something as simple as wearing a Sharks pin or hat would have allowed Kittle to cheer for the Predators while acknowledging his ties to the Bay Area and the Sharks—something many Sharks players have done for the 49ers in the past.
This situation also highlights the disparity between the popularity of the NFL and NHL in the U.S. Kittle, a major figure in football, had a chance to elevate the profile of a struggling Sharks team in the midst of a long rebuild and hockey in general by showing even a small gesture of support. Such acts of solidarity can strengthen the local sports community and help build broader support for teams across different sports.
You may be wondering way doesnt matter who Kittle roots for, hes a hockey fan that should be enough. Well you are right to an extent, however to understand the impact we need to step back and look at this from a PR and advertising perspective. When a star athlete, like Connor McDavid participates in advertisements like Body Amour, the goal of these ads is to capitalize on McDavid's star power. If young boys and girls sit down to watch a NHL game, see McDavid play stellar hockey and its followed up by a Bodyarmour ad, the goal is to entice those fans to think "well if McDavid drinks Bodyarmor and hes the greatest hockey player in the game today, then I need should start drinking it too so I can be like him". Now, most of us can recognize an ad for what it is, however they wouldnt keep making these ads if they didnt work.
Lets look at the Taylor Swift effect in the NFL. Now I know, Swift's stardom comepletely eclipses anyone else on the planet but if you look at the impact her support for the Kansas City Chiefs has had on the sport and team as a whole, it's easy to see how the Chiefs have turned into the biggest team in Sports almost overnight thanks to Swifts relationship with Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. While Kittle
With that perspective, lets turn back to Kittle, his fandom consitis of NFL fans of all ages, and he is sure to have alot of young fans that look up to him as a role model. So if your favorite athelte is out showing his love and support for another team or sport, its reasonable to assume that some of his fans will follow in suit. Another example of this can be seen with Caitlin Clark and her transition for Iowa Hawkeyes, to the Indiana Fever, and she even got basketball fans interested in golf over the offseason. So instead of Kittle funneling fans to support the Sharks, who need all the support they can get, instead these 49er super fans of Kittle's will migrate to be more like kittle and instead support the Nashville Predators. While this is an extreme look at the situation, it is worth thinking about the effect that athletes have on other sports franchises and makes you consider whether or no these athletes have a responsibility and obligation to strenghten the local sports communities in which they play.
The real question is should sports stars be obligated to show support and cheer for other local sport franchises? While this is a tricky gray area for athletes, I do think that Kittle could've handled the situatioin better by showing some support for the sharks or by choosing to attend games when the Preds arent playing the Sharks. Either way, I will say it is nice to see a star football player supporting hockey and the NHL in general, it just wouldve been nice to see him display some support for the Sharks as well considering the support the Sharks have given to the 49ers over the years.