Berta Morrill’s been a fan of the San Diego Padres since she was 12 years old. She’s now 96. That’s more than eight decades of rooting for what she calls ‘her team.’
The best part of her fandom so far? The Padres' second game against the Philadelphia Phillies in this year’s postseason.
“We had a great time. Everyone was yelling and waving,” said Morrill, reenacting the moment with her gold, Padres rally towel. “I got tired of going, 'Yay, yay, yay.'”
The 96-year-old was a special guest of one of the players, Blake Snell, who learned about her from a TikTok video that her granddaughter, Anais Pauley, made.
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You could say going to the Padres postseason game was sort of a bucket list item for Morrill. Pauley explained that her grandmother said that she would like to see the Padres play in a championship game before she dies, which, sadly, came up after recently losing her brother.
“My sister was like, 'Let’s just put something out there on the internet,'” said Pauley, explaining how this all came to fruition. “I’m not like a big TikTok [creator] but I’m like, 'I know this is where things go viral,' so I made a little TikTok with my grandma in her Padres hat and I just gave her a brief story.”
Padres Fandom
Pauley posted the video and tagged a few accounts, including Blake Snell’s page, that she thought could help get her grandmother wheelchair-accessible tickets to the game. The next day, Pauley said a representative from the Padres reached out and said Snell saw the post.
“'Blake saw your video, he loves it. He thinks your grandma is going to be his good luck charm at the game on Wednesday, so he has secured you guys two wheelchair-accessible tickets for Wednesday’s game,'” said Pauley, sharing what the representative told her on the phone.
Morrill didn’t know this was happening, so when Pauley arrived at her retirement community to surprise her with the news, Morrill’s jaw dropped.
The pair went to the game, jerseys, "Snellzila" poster and all, to cheer on Morrill’s new favorite player who also happened to be pitching in that game.
While she had her favorite on the field, it didn’t take long for Morrill to become a favorite among those in the stands.
“Everyone came and gave high fives, I don’t know why. They didn’t know me,” laughed Morrill, while Pauley reassured her it was because people loved her. “I think about 100 people gave me [high] fives.”
Morrill started to be referred to as a good luck charm, which transitioned into ‘good luck granny’ or ‘Padres mayor.’ Pauley said the nicknames evolved, but above all, she is a diehard Padres fan who is thrilled to see their success so far this year.
“It feels great. I’m 96 years old and I never thought this would happen at this age,” said Morrill.
When asked for her prediction on the Padres in this series, like any loving grandmother, Morrill was supportive and optimistic with her expectations.
“I just pray that they keep going. They did so great the other day when we watched them and I know they’re capable. I just wait and pray that they win,” said Morrill. “But, whether they do or not, they’re my team.”
