Wendell Tyler Says $300 Fine He Paid to Ride in 49er Parade Was Worth It

HONOLULU —  San Francisco 49er Wendell Tyler paid $300 to ride in his own victory parade, but the halfback says it was worth every penny.

Tyler was fined $300 for missing Monday’s 7 p.m. mandatory Pro Bowl team meeting with NFC Coach Mike Ditka.

His excuse? Tyler had no intention of disappointing half a million fans who turned out for San Francisco’s downtown parade to toast the 49ers Super Bowl XIX victory over the Miami Dolphins.

“Three hundred dollars, what’s that?” Tyler remarked Tuesday after arriving in Hawaii from San Francisco. “I didn’t care about $300. I wanted to be in the parade.”

Thirty players were showered with confetti in Monday’s afternoon excitement, but nine other 49ers, including quarterback Joe Montana, skipped the parade and flew straight to Hawaii.

“I wish we could stay. There wasn’t a whole lot left up to us,” Montana said earlier.

Tyler’s teammate Dwight Hicks said he also wanted to remain for the hullabaloo, “but I thought I couldn’t.”

“Hey,” Tyler countered, “it would’ve only cost you $300.”