Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud grew up in Vallejo, Calif, near San Francisco. His grandfather, John Thomas, was an offensive lineman for the 49ers from 1958-67. DeCoud talked to Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his 49ers connections.
Q: Were you a 49ers or Raiders fan as a kid?
A: I grew up a 49ers fan. My grandfather played for the 49ers, and that's why pretty much why my whole mother and father's side of the family grew up in the Bay Area. It's going to be fun. I've got a lot of people coming out for this game. They are flying all 3,000 miles just to see me and the 'Niners.
Q: Did you hear a lot of stories about the 49ers growing up?
A: My uncles, they still fight to this day over those two tickets (Thomas) still gets, the alumni tickets. I think throughout the course of growing up I might have made it to one 'Niner game. I was lucky enough maybe that once. All the other times, my uncles were fighting over those tickets.
Q: Will you have some family at the game rooting for the 49ers?
A: Yeah, there might be like some half (49ers) red-and-white No. 2 and then the 8 on the side will be (Falcons) black and red. They might have split jerseys.
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