BOSTON — The Point is one of the most well-known sports bars in the North End of Boston.
A beautiful brown spectacle on the outside with a rowdy NFL Sunday atmosphere, The Point has everything you could ever want: attractive bartenders, a broad menu, TVs littering the walls.
Earlier in the decade, The Point was also becoming well-known for its second identity: A loving, raucous home for 49ers fans.
Starting in 2012, upwards of 40 people, mostly California natives, would jam pack the second floor of The Point. Besides the Patriots, the 49ers had become a main attraction and a home away from home. The 49ers were bringing people together, 3,000 miles away from Santa Clara.
But on Sunday against the Cardinals, just three loyal 49ers fans showed up. Levi’s Stadium isn’t the only venue where fans are revolting.
“Everyone is generally disgusted with how things are going,” said Dave Lacampagne, a San Francisco native and a regular at The Point. “We’ve had smaller showings every year because of the product on the field.”
Isabel Bourelle moved to Boston 10 years ago from Palo Alto. It was her idea in 2012 to make The Point a destination for 49ers fans in Beantown. Dressed in a white Patrick Willis jersey and Mardi Gras style 49ers beads, Bourelle threw her hands up in frustration when the Cardinals kicked the game-winning field goal Sunday as time expired.
It was the 49ers’s eighth consecutive loss.
“I try and say this is just a down couple of years and they’ll be fine,” said Bourelle. “But you just wonder what’s really going on down there behind the scenes.”
April Tharpe, also a regular at The Point, broke the bank for her 10-year-old nephew’s birthday two weeks ago. The pair flew down to Santa Clara, bought tickets five rows off the field for the Saints game and were excited for the game day atmosphere.
“We were surrounded by New Orleans people,” Tharpe said, a Chico native. “It wasn’t pleasant. There’s just a lot less support. A lot of people I know have stopped caring.”
Luckily, The Point still honors the Bay Area faithful and reserves a corner TV just for the 49ers. According to a bartender, several times this year other patrons have complained about why one of the viewing screens is being wasted.
“I mean, nobody even has one fantasy player on their team,” said the bartender who asked to remain nameless.
The Point is now becoming a much larger attraction for something different: The Warriors. Golden State travels to Boston on Friday and the crowd is expected to have that same feel it did a few years back when the 49ers were regularly making the playoffs.
He doesn’t like admitting it, but Lacampagne said he’s skipped some games this year at The Point. He wishes the 49ers had more primetime games, but jokes the team is nowhere good enough to be featured in the national spotlight.
And that’s what it’s become for 49ers fans: A joke.
“At a certain point, you need to change the people making the decisions within the team,” said Lacampagne. “You can’t just keep changing coaches and hope it’s going to get better.
“There’s not a lot of joy in watching the 49ers anymore. Why even come out?”
