A life of ridicule, shame

Hardware from another time.

The NFL regular season is over. Presumably, the final piece of the puzzle will be the New York Giants who are currently beating the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas, which is always great to watch.

For the first time in nine years, my favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers, are in the playoffs. And not just in, they won their division and secured a first round bye as the number two seed in the NFC with a closer-than-expected win over the St. Louis Rams this afternoon.

But I’m not here to write about that. I’m here to discuss, very briefly, about my life as a 49ers fan. In the Midwest or upper Midwest where I am from, you are not supposed to like a team from the West Coast. According to many, you can’t like anyone but the Minnesota Vikings, the Kansas City Chiefs or the Denver Broncos. Some may say the Green Bay Packers or the Chicago Bears. Apart from Cowboys and Steelers fans, the five previously mentioned teams own the Sioux Falls, South Dakota football consciousness, with the Vikings having a majority of the market share. As P. W. Herman would say. A loner. A rebel. Well, sort of anyway. Me and all the other fair weathers.

In the 80′s the 49ers were on television every Sunday, more or less. And for me, it all started with a Dwight Clark jersey and some 49ers wallpaper. By the time I donned my first San Fran jersey, “The Catch” was already four years old and the Niners had two of their five Super Bowls in the bag. But, because of the gold helmets, Joe Montana, Roger Craig (a Husker) the winning and my awesome jersey, I was a fan in a town owned by Purple.

From elementary school until my freshman year of college, it was easy to be a fan. Three more Super Bowls, two hall of fame quarterbacks, the greatest wide receiver (statistically) of all time and a no name defense that always got the job done pegged you as a guy who was destined to be a fair weather fan. I can’t tell you how many times I heard I’d be searching for a new team when the wins dried up.

Well, they did dry up. The Bill Walsh coaching lineage died off to make way for guys like Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary. Ownership shifted from Eddie DeBartolo to his sister (seriously) and her husband. The good Dr. Jed York had been around the organization since Walsh, but hiring guys like Terry Donahue to select the talent and direction of the team screwed the organization like the last 20 years were something of a fading dream. 3Com Park, Monster Park, whatever it was named, it wasn’t the same.

What did I do? I reluctantly bought a dish, shelled out money for Sunday Ticket for a few years. I went to bars and restaurants with Sunday Ticket, usually arguing with a waitress or bartender on the point the 49ers and Seahawks game was a much better option than the Patriots and Colts. Sometimes I’d win, sometimes I’d lose. But I was there. Maybe it makes me an idiot, still supporting a team I was not in any remote proximity of.

I wore my Jeff Garica, my Julian Peterson and my Andre Carter jerseys with pride. Not proud pride, but the sort of  pride of someone who was under the delusion of knowing “this season will be different.” That Tim Rattay was good enough to get us a chance in the division.

My red and gold hats always got me a snicker or two in public. Watching grainy films from the 80′s run of Super Bowls I kinda remembered stung rather than filled me with any pride. Stumblin’ Steve Young’s run against the Vikings was a highlight most fans of Minnesota would recall and say “well, at least you were good. Once. Super Bowl and dynasty good. Better than I/we can say.” A small consolation for losing an endless amount of games in a row to the Rams.

Since I’ve lived in Kansas City, I’ve been live witness to a  combined 72-10 pounding at the hands of the hometown team. My Ronnie Lott jersey in 2006 might as well have been a middle finger inside of a bulls eye kicking a small child with cerebral palsy to the hometown fans.

Fast forward to this season, and it’s gone from pity and ridicule to being accused of fair weather fan-ery again. Donning my new Patrick Willis jersey, someone I know asked why I would stop being a Chiefs and jump ship for the Niners? The irony is this acquaintance of mine is a fan of a team who is the “current” dynasty. I told them about my faded  Carter jersey with the numbers practically washed off, and asked if they’d like it since he was now on the team they cheer for. All I got was a quizzical  look.

Whatever happens in the postseason this year. If Jim Harbaugh is a one hit wonder. If they Niners never make it back to another Super Bowl. I’ll still be here.

I know I said “briefly” at one point. That never works out.

Mid-Week Updates

United move on to UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals

• Manchester United defeated AC Milan 4-0 (7-2 on aggregate) and advanced in the UEFA Champions League out of the round of 16 and in to the quarterfinals.  The draw for the final eight teams will be after next weeks games are played.  United benefited from goals from Wayne Rooney (13′, 46′) and Ji-Sung Park (59′) and finally after 47 Champions League appearances, Darren Fletcher added another (88′).  United will find out who they will play in the quarters after next weeks other slate of second leg games.

• The woeful Nebraska men’s basketball team defeated the Missouri Tigers in the Big 12 Tournament today 75-60.  The game was dominated by the Huskers from the start and couldn’t come at a better time for me personally, because I really dislike Missouri and their fans.

• Nomar Garciaparra retires a Red Sox player, which is how it should be.  It was a bit of a tumultuous break up back in the summer of ’04 en route to the Sox first World Series Win in 86 years, but the Sox were once again a classy organization and gave number 5 his much deserved championship ring.  “Nomah,” in the tongue of New Englanders, ends as a career .313 hitter, 229 home runs and an OPS of .882.

• The Formula 1 series will kick off this weekend with current champion Jenson Button defending his crown with new team, McLaren Mercedes in Sakhir, Bahrain.  There was quite a shake up with teams and drivers this year which will have more detail later this week on Sports Central.

• The 49ers were fairly mum on who they were pursuing on the heels of the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Ind.  With the pick number 13 in the NFL Draft, you would hope that the Niner brass would be looking to add to their offense, which will still pretty anemic, is on the rebound from a dreadful performance the last several seasons.

Where Did This Come From?

Linebacker Patrick Willis is in charge.

Pulling yourself off the scrap heap in the NFL isn’t quite as hard as it is in some other sports.  But when you’ve had as many front office snafus, bad draft picks and unwise coach hirings I was wondering if my long dormant NFL team would ever see the light of a winning record ever again.  Somehow this team of no name players have dusted themselves off and is showing the NFL what they are made of.

Let’s be honest, in all actuality this team should be 4-0 at this point, with a notch on their belt over Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.  And yet despite the loss, things are starting to feel good in the Bay Area and for those who never jumped off the bandwagon from the 80′s, like me.

San Francisco is dictating the terms of every game they are playing in.  Head coach Mike Singletary has his opportunistic defense playing a brand of 3-4 defense that ranks up near the top of the league.  The running game was haltered a bit yesterday without the presence of running back Frank Gore, but rookie Glen Coffee did a solid job as fill in.  Shaun Hill continues to do a serviceable job under center by not losing game and doing a great job managing it.  I hate that cliche of a line for quarterbacks, however it rings true for the Niners.

How are they getting it done?  How is this team averaging 25.5 points per game?  Which is, by the way, up there with the likes of Indianapolis, New York and Chicago and ranks above teams like New England and Pittsburgh.  Maybe the NFC West isn’t the best test for a team’s true worth, however the fact this team is finally winning games they should is a step in the right direction.

The next three games will be a test for the 49ers with Atlanta coming to town before a bye week, then traveling out on the road to face down the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts.  Looking further down the line, games at Green Bay and Philadelphia will be a true test for this young team.  San Francisco is clearly the best team in the NFC West, and if injuries or a meltdown don’t get in their way they are my early pick to win the division.  I guess that’s not so bold considering we are 3-0 in the division now.  But as we all know, the Niners have been prone to folding after showing signs of life.

Also, is there a better middle linebacker in the NFL than Patrick Willis?  If you get a chance to watch a 49ers game this season and like defense and linebacker play, make sure you stop your dial on whichever channel is showcasing his skills.  The man is simply a beast.  His tackles may not rank up there, but he’s in the top seven and can also rack up sacks and has a nose for the ball in terms of takeaways.  Look for this kid to shine for years to come.  York family and the rest of the Niner front office, if you let him get away you could lose a fan.  Consider this your official notice.