Why does it always have to be the 49ers?

Why is it always the 49ers?

This is always an interesting time of the year in sports (at least for me). Ever since the 1981 season (yes, I am aware that I am dating myself here and conceding to old age), I have watched the NFL playoffs unfold, and been fascinated by the process of watching what happens at the elimination level. There are often surprises and breathtaking moments. Over the years, fans that follow these playoffs have seen an undefeated team lose in the final minute of the Super Bowl, another team come back from a record 32 point deficit to come back and win in the greatest comeback in NFL history (playoffs or otherwise), some incredible and unorthodaox plays like Dave Tyree's side of the helmet catch in the Super Bowl, and Bret Favre's dumpoff in the snow. We have seen plenty of upsets, favorites falling. Teams that seem loaded with talent seemingly not showing up, or at least not being able to get the job done. We have seen some of the most dominant teams inm history (the 1985 Chicago Bears still seem the strongest team that I personally remember), where everything followed the script, and where the outcome was seemingly inevitable.

Yet, things do not always go according to script, right? The unexpected does happen, and there are teams that face seemingly impossible odds, either against a very strong opponent that nobody believes they can beat, or late in a game, when the outcome seems all but a fomrality, and yet, things can happen, and they can change the couse of the game, and possibly a season. That is why we tune in, right? Some of the greatest and most talked about memories that fans still love to talk about and when we have seen some unbelievable duels and great games between quality opponents, and last minute, fourth quarter comebacks starring such incredible and historical names like Elway and Marino and Montana.

Yes, Joe Montana was perhaps the most memorable of these stars, and I cannot think of anyone who has been prominently involved in more such epic moments. In fact, way back in that 1981 season, he starred in perhaps the most famous single play in the history of the playoffs, if not of the entire sport altigehter. It was such a huge play, that it still is known simply as “The Catch”. He was the most fun player to watch in his time, and I was a fan of his, and still admire the way he operated. He earned the nickname “Cool Joe”.

Which is why it pains me to say that, despite the fact that I always liked and admired Joe Montana, I never liked his team, the San Fransisco 49ers. I mean, every sports fan has that one team that irks them, right? For me, the 49ers were that team in football, while the Lakers are that for me in basketball, and the Yankees in baseball, perhaps Duke in college basketball, and perhaps even a few others that I am not thinking about at the moment. You know, those teams that you absolutely do not want to see win yet another trophy, or another victory. That team that you feel so much disdain for, that you pretty much pull for whoever is playing them.

Yes, that is how I feel about the 49ers, which is why it annoys me to write something like this, which grudgingly gives them the respect that, as a franchise, I know they deserve.

There is just something about them, and in particular, there is something about that franchise seemingly enjoying more than there share of these magical and immortal playoff moments. Truth be told, I was rooting against them in every single one of those moments. I was rooting against them when they beat the Dallas Cowboys, 28-27, in the 1981 Championship Game, forever immoratlized for “The Catch”. I was against them when they they had the drive in the last minutes of Super Bowl XXIII, coming from behind to beat the Bengals with a late touchdown with 34 seconds remaining. I was against them once again during the Wildcard Game against the Green Bay Packers following the 1998 season, when they got a lvery late touchdown with seconds remaining to eliminate the Packers in miracle fashion.

Imagine what I was thinking yesterday, when they ocne again pulled off a miraculous victory in the playoffs, this time against the New Orleans Saints, who I thought were truly a better team than they showed yesterday. I probably rolled my eyes and thought “Here we go again” as San Fransisco had the ball and entirely too much time on the clock mto work with, following what must have seemed for the Saints (and had seemed to me, admittedly), to be the clinching touchdown late in the 4^th quarter. But there were the 49ers, marching down the field. There they were again, with seconds left, very near the goal line, with another quarterback (this time, Alex Smith) passing it into the end zone and completing to Vernon Davis in what I understand is being called “The Grab”, thus completing yet another epic 4^th quarter comeback in the playoffs for this franchise's history, to win, 36-32. Once again, San Fransisco is in the Championship Game. Sigh.

So, why is it that I came to hate the 49ers, and what is it about them that I actually hate? Well, I am not sure about the first part of that question, except that they always seemed to beat my Giants early on, and they eventually became, undisputably, the most succesful team of the 1980's, the “Team of the Decade”, while my Giants, though succesful, were not, and like everyone else in the league, were in the shadow of those 49ers. Ironically, the Giants actually enjoyed more success, really even far more success, than most other teams did during the peak of the 49ers glory days on the 1980's. Yes, they lost those games against the 49ers, but they won some huge ones, too. After never seemingly beating tyhem since I started following the sport, they finally beat the defending champion 49ers, 17-3, in the 1985 Wildcard game. They came back from a 17-0 defiicit in San Fransisco on a Monday niight in 1986 to win, largely on the strength of Mark Bavaro managing to break numerous tackles and famously pulling several 49ers, Ronnie Lott among them, several yards, to trigger the comeback effort. Later that season, the Giants tore the 49ers apart in the playoffs, 49-3 – the second straight year that the Giants eliminated San Fransisco, and by such a margin! They would meet again in the playoffs (in fact, these two teams have met in the playoffs during my lifetime more than any other two teams have, even still!) after the 1990 season, when the 49ers, again the defending champions, hosted the Giants, loking to “three peat”. Instead, the Giants defense punished San Fransisco and took Joe Montana out of the game, eventually winning it on the final play, with Matt Bahr's field goal sending New York to the Super Bowl, which they eventually won against the powerful and favored Buffalo Bills, albeit beating Buffalo by a single point, which is still the losest Super Bowl margin ever! The next season, the two teams had another epic battle on Monday Night Football to open the season, and the Giants prevailed – barely – 16-14, again on a last minute field goal by placekicker Matt Bahr to clinch it. At the time, it snapped a record 20 game road winning streak by the 49ers that still stands today.

So, with all that success that my team had against them (again, more than any other team enjoyed during the 49ers best days), why is it that I still cant's stand the 49ers? Mostly because they won at least as often against the Giants, as well. They beat them twice in that same 1981 season, including the playoffs, a game I still remember. It was the game that earned the 49ers the chance to host the Championship Game, which would forever be remembered for “The Catch” that ave the 49ers their first Super Bowl appearance and, eventually, their first championship. When the Giants made it to the palyoffs again, they made it back to the divisional round, only to face the 15-1 49ers, who once again defeated New York soundly, en route to their second Super Bowl victory. In fact, the 49ers won the vast majority of the regular season meetings that the two teams faced off in and, after the Giants had that bit of success against San Fransisco in the mid-80's and again in the early nineties, the 49ers would go on to elimiante the Giants by a whopping 44-3, exacting a measure of revenge for the 1986 Giants threashing of San Fransisco, and again following the 2002 season, when the Giants blew a 38-14 lead in San Fran and eventually lost, 39-38, which became the second largest playoff comeback in history, behind trhe 32 point comeback for the Bills. Sickening.

Still, isn't that a part of sports? I have to admit, it is actually fun to root against a team, much like it is fun to root for your favorite team. When the 49ers are in the playoffs, I of course still root against them, and for whatever team they happen to be playing at the time. Yes, I wanted New Orleans to win, and was disappointed when they did not. But again, that makes follwing the sport fun, doesn't it? So, in a weird and indirect way, perhaps I am happy that the 49ers are in the ployffs, and making it a bit more interesting than it otherwise may have been? Shhhh....don't tell anyone!

The NFC North: The Best Division in Football?

The 2010 NFL season was a strange one, indeed. It was the first season in a very, very long time where no one had an even remotely exciting run with perfection. Following so many seasons where teams had some incredible starts, (five teams managed to reach at least 10-0 in the past five seasons, with all but one of them reaching at least 13-0,), only three teams (Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Kansas City) managed to reach even modest 3-0 starts, and none of these managed to go any farther than that without a loss. Also, much more obvious than in other years, there were a few divisions that seemed to lack any really standout, quality teams. That was particularly true with the NFC West, which sent the only team in NFL history to qualify for the playoffs with a losing record, but it was also true with the AFC West and the AFC South, despite the presence of traditional powers in the Colts and the Chargers in these divisions. Indy had a season that was not up to their usually high standards, and lost in the first round of the playoffs, at home. The Chargers suffered through a long, difficult, and embarrassing season, ranking near the top statistically in both offense and defense, yet never really having a record that could have allowed them to seriously contend for a playoff spot. The Chiefs, who eventually did manage to win the AFC West, did not show remarkable consistency or strength, and it would seem unlikely that they will be serious contenders in the near future. Building on their success this past season would be difficult, if the Chargers, specifically, begin to play more consistent football.

The NFC North will likely be a very tough division for a very long time. It already showed glimpses of being a bruising division this past season. The Vikings were one of the favorites in the preseason, but obviously had a tough season filled with distractions and misfortunes. What should help them out will be the lack of distraction and drama surrounding Brett Favre, and finally ending their reliance on a quarterback in his forties. But that said, they will need to adjust, and could easily find themselves struggling, with the likes of a very explosive and tough Packers franchise, along with the rejuvenated Chicago Bears, and a strongly improved Detroit Lions team. Still, we cannot forget that this Vikings team went 12-4 in 2009, advancing all the way to a Championship Game where they strongly outplayed the eventual Super Bowl champs Saints, in New Orleans, and might have won it had not Favre thrown an ill-conceived interception that likely kept them out of the Super Bowl. So the Vikings still can prove dangerous, and could still contend.

The Lions have long been the basket case in the NFL, and the cellar dwellers in their division for the vast majority of seasons over the last decade. But this Lions teams was one that showed some real signs of life for the first time since starting off 6-3 in 2007. They finally managed to win not one, but two road games, including one that, for all intents and purposes, knocked Tampa from the playoff race, en route to winning their last four games. Matthew Strafford has shown glimpses of greatness, and should he remain healthy, he could become one of the top tier quarterbacks. To say that this Lions team is a very different one from the historical 2008 Lions, who made history in all the wrong ways by becoming the first team to go 0-16 since the league extended the regular season to 16 games. They left that legacy behind them, and now look forward to a seemingly bright future. Let us also remember that they came close to beating both the Packers and the Bears on the road this season, and really deserved to win that game against Chicago, which was taken away from them because of a bad call. It seems obvious that the Lions are at least on the right track.

Chicago seems to have recovered from the three year slump that saw them fall out of playoff contention, following their Super Bowl season in 2006. They won a division that had been dominated in recent years by the Vikings and Packers, and did so convincingly. The problem with the Bears has been consistency. This is a team that has not made the playoffs in back to back years since the Mike Ditka era, instead producing these one year wonder kind of seasons. It will take a lot more consistency to come anywhere close to reproducing the kind of success they enjoyed in 2010.

Finally, the Packers, who have a star quarterback leading an explosive offense, and a defense that is underrated, but played consistently as one of the league’s best units. This is a very strong team all around, but they would need to remain healthier than they have the past two seasons, when losing starters proved to be their main Achilles Heel, at least in the regular season. The one thing that the Packers have not done under Aaron Rodgers during the regular season is win a division title, but the Pack figure to be contenders for a good long time, assuming this lineup remains intact and can stay healthy.

So following a season of some disappointing divisions as a whole, the NFL should rejoice, now, at the prospects of the NFC North, which seems poised to rank with perhaps the AFC North and the AFC East as divisions with a number of strong teams that could at least seriously contend for the playoffs, and could send elite teams with the potential to go quite far in playoff runs in the near future. I will venture to say that, of the leading candidates to potentially assume the title from the Patriots as the next “Team of the Decade” (assuming the Patriots don’t hold on and win it again, which would be quite unprecedented), the NFC North, specifically, has two teams that could be early front runners to contend for this lofty status in the Packers and the Lions, and these two teams should become a hot rivalry over the next few years, having already played two tough and close games this past season, splitting with successful home stands. Add Jay Cutler’s Bears in the mix, and things could be interesting during the fall out by the Great Lakes for some time to come.