Sportswriters love cliches. There’s always the “team of destiny” and the “bad omen” and any number of other unwritten rules and notions which hold about as much weight on the outcome of the game as the symmetry of chicken bones or the pattern of tea leaves.
But as much as we want to discount the arbitrary nature of the supposed “indicators” on the outcome of the game, you have to admit, the Niners just had way too many of the intangibles against them.
There was the “momentum” factor. The Ravens were on a hot streak and behind the fire of Ray Lewis they were playing with a ton of confidence. When you play with confidence you play without hesitation and you’re less prone to mental lapses.
There was the epic clusterfuck that was Chris Culliver. Just days after alienating arguably the largest LGBT fan base of any team in the NFL, Culliver managed to, for lack of a better term, get reamed by the Baltimore passing attack.
There was the offense that tempted fate one too many times. The Niners weren’t in a playoff game this year unless they were behind early. If they had another two minutes they may well have won it all. But they ran out of time. They dug themselves a hole that was just too deep and they didn’t quite have enough to get over the hump in the end.
When you get down to it, none of those things really mattered. They were simply a football team that didn’t score more points than the other. But when you look at the big picture, it’s hard not to think that they were a team who tempted fate one too many times.
So where do we go from here? Well, we can look back ten years or so. The Giants almost had it in 2000, but came up short. They had it all going their way in 2002, but then the fates all colluded against them and it came crashing down. They had an even better team in 2003, and it ended too soon because some asshole couldn’t catch an easy fly ball (sound familiar, Kyle Williams?) And a few years later, when nobody thought it would happen, when we all thought their best chance had come and gone, they did it.
The Niners time will come. They may have ended the season on a sour note, and hell, odds are they won’t do it next year either. But sooner or later it will happen, and nights like last night will only make it sweeter.
The last offensive series last night was the longest 4 downs I have ever watched. I’ve been in auto and motorcycle accidents more than once, and time slowed down in exactly the same way. The final pass Kaep hurled toward the corner wobbled infinitely toward the two players fighting for position under it. I think I waited longer to see the 9ers back in the Super Bowl than I did to see that ball come down. So now it starts all over again. This 49ers team is good, really good. They’re back, and they’ll be back in the playoffs before you know it.
None of the accidents I’ve been in I saw coming so those were of the blink-of-an-eye variety. 2 of those were of the concussion variety.
Yeah, that pass. The pisser is, if that DB doesn’t hold Crabs, he makes the catch. Whether he stays in bounds is a different question, but the ball was on the money.
Just infuriating. I was watching ESPN last night and they showed the 2nd down play, and when Walker went out for a pass, the safety wrapped both his arms around him and held him in a bear hug. No flag. And on the KO return, I mastakenly thought is was Walker held by TWO Ravens. It was Miller. Fucking joke. You don’t want it to come down to penalties, but they completlely let shit go that they shouldn’t have. it’s hard to throw passes when 2 of your recievers are being mugged.
The more I talk about the game, the more it hurts..
The U$C comment boards are having an epic meltdown right now.. They lost one of their best commits to. . . Kansas. They lost 3 other top rated commits.. Serious civil war going over there.. I told them after Lame Kitten came back that they would live to regret it.. He can’t coach!
I am sad they lost, but I am over it. Not sure why as I love the 49ers. You are younger than I, however, and their first SB win for me came when I was 19 or so. However, the SF Giants losses for me have been very very difficult.
I think baseball fans have a lot more invested in their teams. Most football fans will read the occasional article/sportscenter, set their fantasy lineups on Friday then cheer on the team for a few hours on Sunday, 16-19 times per season. When you follow a baseball team over the course of the season you do it day-in and day-out, 162 games a year over the course of 6-7 months. By the time you get to the point of the World Series you have far more invested in the team, and seeing them lose is that much harder, especially when you had that history of coming up short that dogged the Giants pre-2010.
I think there are also a few other mitigating factors for me with regard to the 49ers:
1) I hate their ownership. Their move to Santa Clara stinks, and their treatment of long long time season ticket holders is reprehensible. I am of the belief that the Dorks should buy something closer to home and get the fuck out of the Bay Area, because they are greedy assholes;
2) The “It Gets Better” video debacle just SUCKS. Yeah, the players who participated should not be that uninvolved as talking heads, but management should know better;
3) I need to reiterate #1. I HATE the ownership, and there is a party of me that is happy to know that drunk Denise DeBartolo won’t be hoisting that trophy above her head this year. The only reason why I’d want to see her carry it is if she slammed it against Ray Lewis’ teeth, and he spent the next 5 years talking about this incident to Skip Bayless; and
4) I’d love to see some of these players do something other than take pictures of their sneakers for posting on Instagram. Most of them use social media, and I’ve only become enamored with both Donte Whitner and Ricky Jean Francois and their charismatic personalities. This isn’t a requirement to win a SB, and should not punish them. Just the same, watch the SF Giants or the San Jose Shark players use social media. They use it as a bridge to fans and into their lives, and are not afraid to reveal some quirky, humble or bold personalities. The only comparison is Ricky Jean Francois or a few others. For someone like me who lives outside of the Bay Area and is not privy to blanket 49er coverage, the social media part of things means a little bit more to me. I know this is shallow. All the same, I wanted them to win.
Good post.. I do feel better after reading it.. Yeah, pricing out 49er faithful and fucking over Santa Clara makes it easier to take..
Billionaires need to pay for their own toys and leave the fucking tax payers alone.
I understand that to the winner goes all the spoils. But these Baltimore fans need to understand that:
1) That “Somalian children will enjoy their new 49ers Super Bowl Champs” t-shirts line is stupid. They should know those kids are still sporting their “Baltimore Orioles – 2012 NLDS Champs!” shirts; and
2) We’re not poor losers for calling out Ray Lewis. Winning the Super Bowl isn’t vindication for a murder rap, and it’s no redemption. He’s just luckier than OJ.
Okay…now that is out of my system, WTF SAN JOSE SHARKS?
The fucking Fuckducks just have their number. I repeat: I HATE THEM. Get it done tonight!
When I saw The Who at the Pond last Monday, my husband and I were wondering if the zambonis would power up by mistake and mow down the floor seats. I hate anything in Anaheim, and they should be banned from hockey for serving “nachos” with bbq sauce instead of cheese.
Nachos with BBQ sauce? WTF? Gross.
I’ve been doing things intentionally to get that god damn game off my mind.. I watched a chick flick last night with my wife and actually enjoyed it.. The five year engagement.. It was like therapy.
Crazy hockey game so far. And…what the fuck, Warriors?
I’ve been trying to enjoy this as much as possible but there is a major downer for me, Lewis goes out a winner.
An otherwise perfect result for me.
Well, you can never say that I wouldn’t go to bat for you, because I did.. That’s what friends do.
Why would I say that?
Agreed, btw.
Ugh..
I called this penalty during the game at chuck’s house…
Sharks are back to their choketacular ways and my least favorite month is in full throttle…I can’t wait for baseball
Why the February hate?
It’s Black History, LGBT and Nat’l Bird-Feeding Month!
In fact, it’s Waitangi Day in New Zealand today…
Delanie Walker’s aunt and uncle were killed Monday morning by a drunk driver in New Orleans.. Absolutely horrible.
Ann Killion @annkillion
The Raiders are going to use Lew Wolff’s tarps? Lame.
What is she talking about?
She’s just talking out of her ass–as is SOP with the gate, it’s nothing but troll bait. Since the trolls bring the ads, they get catered to. Redonk.
I don’t like her at all.. You gotta be dumber than dirt to refer to Japan as JAP.. 100 bucks says she’s a republican
Apparently they’re going to leave the tarps on Mt Davis next year. Sort of kills the whole point of the renovation.
I’ve heard the east-side club and the luxury suites over there are nice. I’ve only walked past the place on my way from BART to seats closer to homeplate, however, so I don’t really know how busy it gets in there. It’ll really look shitty if the Raiders are playing on IF dirt with the big AAA’s logo looming over the place.
Why would they do that? The sellout/blackout thing?
Yup.
Oh, I’m sure they’ll have Raider versions of the tarp. Make it look like a big black toilet.
A toilet like the 9ers special teams?
Let’s do some math. Fuck it. 4-12? Bwahahahahahahahahaha!
Prince Valiant can then change their name to the Floaters.
More math. 1st and goal at the 6 plus 109 KO for a TD divided by Flacco shredding a homophobic CB times a psychotic head coach equals 49er fans blaming their team’s choke job on the refs.
Yeah, it sucks to have a team that is poised for great things. The Raiders should bypass LA and go straight for TJ.
The good news is it probably won’t take as long to get to and from TJ as it will Great America-Silicon Valley-Google stadium…and they’ll have cheap and delicious margaritas at games, too.
Getting in and out of the Great America spot will be a breeze compared to the ‘Stick. Imagine if they get a Sunday Night game early in the season: catch the Giants game at AT&T, grab a six-pack and hop the Caltrain down to Santa Clara. BEST DAY EVER.
I just saw the price list for 2013 Raiders tickets. The highest priced season tickets, for club-level over the 50 yd lines, cost $1500. $1500 for 8 regular season games and 2 preseason? Is that it? Is there a PSL charge, too?
Maybe they’re getting ready to return to So Cal? There just isn’t enough violence down here.
No mention of a PSL in anything I read today.. Damn, those are some cheap season tickets.. Good for the blue collar crowd.
Can’t wait for Giants baseball and Cal football.. Looking forward to the new Sonny Dykes era ‘Bear raid’ offense.
That’s me in the grey hoodie and black cap with my arms up waiting for the Cal D to hold with a Coors light in my right hand (I had already finished my sixer of SN Pale Ale so I bought it for 50 cents from a black market vendor up on the hill).. Thanks to my pal Keith for the photo.
Dude, we need to meet uo and watch a game up on that hill next season. I think the new post Tedturd regime will turn it around.
I haven’t been there since the renovation. How is it?
Very nice JDR.. This is taken from tightwad hill but memorial is awesome.
Jacoby Jones is on Jimmy Kimmel tonight!
Ok, ok, no more football talk. Onwards to baseball. But with that being said…………what the fuck, Warriors?