Letter to 49er Fans

Dear Niner Nation,

After a couple weeks since the NFC Championship Game it's time to take a deep breath and hold our heads once again. The past three seasons have been arguably the most heartbreaking stretch experienced by any fan base in North American professional sports.

Only but a few comparable stretches of heartbreak have plagued teams during the past few decades. In baseball, you have the Braves teams that won 14 straight division crowns, but won only one World Series. In basketball, you have Detroit who reached six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals, yet again only one ring. 

You also have the Spurs teams of the past three seasons who got upset by an eight seed, lost four straight in the conference finals and we all saw what happened in those two games down in South Beach last year. The NFL has had the Bills teams that lost four consecutive Super Bowls.  Then there's the Patriots, who in the last three seasons combined to reach the exact same rounds of the playoffs as San Francisco.
 
What separates the heartbreak felt in San Francisco from those previously mentioned is just how close the deciding games were, and how long it's been since they've won the ultimate prize. If merely three plays went differently the 49ers could just as easily be three-peat Super Bowl champions. But they didn't, and the Bay Area must once again look toward next season. 

During Buffalo's run of Super Bowl appearances only one game was actually close. The other teams listed above either won it all during their span of heartbreak, or won one within a decade before their stretch.
 
The 49ers haven't won a Super Bowl since January 1995, a time when most people reading this were still in diapers. The post-Jeff Garcia and pre-Jim Harbaugh teams that I grew up watching gave the Niner Faithful all but zero to root for. Heck that goes for all Bay Area teams for that matter. 

From the time JT was thrown out at the plate in 2003, until the turn the decade and this, the five Bay Area franchises in three biggest sports combined for two playoff appearances. Somehow one of those was the Warriors. I highly commend the natives of the Bay who stood by their teams. With special admiration for my fellow 90's babies whose rooting interests were formed during this time frame. But I digress, back to the Niners.
 
Just think back a few years to the completion of the 2010 season that included a coaching change midway through the year. This marked the eighth straight season without a winning record. A ring was nowhere near the realm of possibility for most Niners fans. Flash forward to today, three consecutive NFC Championship Games reached, that's no small feat. 

Instead of sulking over the recent excruciating losses, Niners fans should rejoice over the success this unit has had. Because I know no one wishes to go back to how things were during most of the 00s. Plus think about it, for the first time in many seasons San Francisco has had consecutive years of genuine hope for the upcoming season. This spring and summer will be no different. SF returns the majority of their core, and resigning or finding comparable replacements for Boldin, Goodwin, and Whitner will place them right back at the elite level they've been at for the past few years.
 
Don't get me wrong, losing to that cheater Pete Caroll led, adderall and streroid abusing, "articulate" Stanford "graduate" smack talking, popcorn throwing fan condoning organization up north should sting. I'll openly admit that I almost cried after the game. 

The only thing that kept tears from flowing was the fact that I watched the game with two fellow San Franciscans whom I had just met and I wished to avoid becoming known in certain circles as "The Guy who Cried After the Niner Game." Nothing would make me happier than seeing Peyton Manning and that Bronco offense blow Seattle out of the water. Absolute worst-case scenario, the Hawks end up with 1/5 the number of Lombardi trophies currently held by the red and gold.
 
So fear not, things aren't as bleak as they seem. At the very least, just remember that most of the faithful are fortunate enough to live in The Bay, where winter isn't even a thing. As someone who recently moved to upstate New York, I can assure you that this is something to be truly grateful for. Once the offseason officially starts on Febraury 3rd and someone asks "Whose Got it Better?" you can bet your bottom dollar i'll give them the correct answer. I hope you'll do the same.