SAN FRANCISCO — The most popular man at the Sweet Sixteen didn’t even make it into the arena. An empty duffel bag sat next to David Sierra as the 59-year-old San Joaquin Valley resident scanned the televisions inside a sports bar across the plaza Thursday afternoon.

“I’m walking out of here with less money than I had, but with a fulfillment that money can’t provide,” Sierra said, nursing a Coors Light from the bucket in front of him.

For the second time in its short history, Chase Center played host to an NCAA men’s regional, and the atmosphere inside the arena for Thursday’s semifinals was livelier than you might expect with the closest participant, Texas Tech, still a thousand miles from home.

Outside, nobody was putting smiles on more faces than Sierra, who didn’t have a rooting interest but knew he had to make the three-and-a-half hour drive from Visalia under the serendipitous circumstances that led to the top-seeded Florida Gators being placed out west.

The night before, Sierra loaded up his car with as many plush, alligator-shaped gloves as he could fit and set his alarm for 5 a.m. By the time the Gators tipped off against Maryland at 4:37 p.m., he was all out. The day was a success, even though he didn’t make a dollar.

“I had no idea this day was going to be like this. No idea,” he said after distributing hundreds of the soft, green mitts. “What did I have to lose? I had nothing to lose. But I had everything to gain.”

Thirteen years since he and his daughter, Krystal, came up with the idea for “Chomp Gloves” at a San Jose Sharks game, Sierra’s perspective has changed. Tragedy will do that.

An endless stream of eager kids and curious fans of all teams approached Sierra in the plaza before tipoff, wondering how they could get their hands on a pair. Many asked him, how much?

Typically they would retail for $45.99. One problem.

“The only thing I can do,” Sierra said, “is to give them away.”

He lost his licensing deal when his business partner passed away in 2014. He has tried out for “Shark Tank” twice and is still waiting for his call back. But the gloves are a hit for a reason.

The bottom half of the gator’s jaw is affixed to one of the orange, spandex-like gloves. The top half of its head, replete with rubber-coated teeth and plastic eyeballs, goes on the right hand. It’s the “Gator Chomp” at its highest form.

Born and raised in San Jose, Sierra is a Sharks fan at heart, and when he noticed others at the SAP Center miming a similar motion, a light bulb went off. He taught himself how to sew, created a prototype, got a patent and went into business.

He fulfilled his first order from his hospital bed.

Sierra was in the car with his wife, Michelle, and their dog, a husky named Bear, on the Monday before Thanksgiving 2022 when they were T-boned by a drunk driver.

“The last thing I remember is the highway patrol on his knees next to me on the door, I can see the glass is all broken, and the highway patrol telling me, ‘Hang on,’ ” Sierra recalled.

“My family didn’t know if I was going to make it or not.”

He went into a coma for four days. Michelle, too.

“We both came to on Thanksgiving day,” he said. “Talk about being thankful.”

Sierra spent two months in the hospital. He broke nine ribs and has a rod in his leg now. He still feels the effects but says he’s doing better than Michelle. Bear didn’t make it.

But during his stay at Kaweah Health, Sierra received his first purchase order. The San Jose Sharks bought 1,000 pairs and have since placed two more orders, Sierra said.

Those are the only pairs Sierra has been able to sell. Scores more of Florida-branded gator gloves have languished — unlicensed — in a storage unit for more than a decade.

Which brings us back to Thursday.

“They went quick,” Sierra said. “You see the reaction. I had an Arkansas fan come up to me, like, ‘You’re giving these away? You’re awesome. All I can see is everybody’s smiling and having a good time and taking pictures with your product.’

“That’s all it’s about, man. Life is how you see it. If you can fulfill people, it fulfills you. If I can make a couple hundred bucks along the way, great. But if I could see them wearing my gloves on that TV …”

Sierra’s voice trailed off.

“I had a hard time. It’s all about fighting back. We all go through hard times. If I can show my daughters, my granddaughters, never give up, dreams do come true, that’s the most important thing.”

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