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.

Is the NFL Sacrificing the Game to Protect the Quarterback?

The 49ers may still be in the playoff hunt at 7 – 4, but for all intents and purposes, they should be 8 – 3. I think we all know what I’m referring to: the fumble-forcing sack 49ers’ linebacker Ahmad Brooks put on New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees two weeks ago.

While I am the first to dismiss people that claim that one single play altered the outcome of a game, that is most likely what happened in this case. With 3:14 left in the 4th quarter, the 49ers were leading by a field goal and the Saints were at 3rd and 2, trying to stay alive. Brooks, came at Brees from the blind side and hit him square in the shoulders, causing a fumble that the 49ers recovered. But instead of their offense taking possession and potentially running out the clock, the 49ers defense remained on the field with the Saints benefitting immensely from a penalty that gave them both the ball and 15-yards.

Questionable calls like these not only drastically affect the outcome of individual games, but are changing the game of football as we know it. Twenty years ago, the National Football League was a name synonymous with hard-hitting, grind-it out, “sloberknocker” football.

But even though that is what football used to be about, it most definitely isn’t anymore. The NFL has begun this steady decline that is ultimately going to change the game that we know and love into rugby with a forward pass!

This change has grown out of the NFL’s attempt to limit lawsuits by players who have developed Chronic Traumatic Encephalothapy (CTE), a complex syndrome that produces severe psychological problems in some cases. That’s not to say that attempting to eliminate high-energy blows to the players’ heads isnt a sufficient reason for changing the game.

Undoubtedly there is some correlation between hits to the head and CTE, despite the improved safety of today’s equipment. But in an effort to make the game safer, the league’s businesspeople must walk a tightrope, balancing the popularity of the game’s violence while inserting changes meant to avoid catastrophic injuries. To many fans, these changes are irreparably harming the game.

Take that hit Ahmad Brooks put on Drew Brees two weeks ago. Two years ago that play would have made the highlight reel. Today, that play is a severe penalty. This, in my humble opinion, is ludicrous and I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Just ask Ray Lewis how he felt about it. He thought it was so ridiculous that he offered to pay half of the fine the NFL is requiring Brooks to pay.

Lewis wasn’t the only one that objected to the call. The reason that so many current and retired players disagreed with the call is because penalties like this aren’t called to prevent concussions, but only because they look bad.

The ostensible purpose of these penalties is to protect against hits to the neck and head. In this case, as Lewis pointed out, the penalty wasn’t protecting Brees’ head, but from a cut lip. Last time I checked football was still a contact sport, and cut lips should be the least of a quarterback’s worries.

Ahmad Brooks did exactly what he has been instructed to do, which is hit hard and square on the shoulders, avoiding any possibility of a helmet to helmet penalty. In the case of this play, because Brees is 6’0” instead of 6’2” or 6’3” like many other NFL quarterbacks, when Brooks made contact and Brees slid down, it looked like a clothesline tackle, when it really wasn’t.

Unfortunately for Brooks, the NFL doesn’t care what about intentions because if the hit starts below the head and neck, but the player slides down, it is still a penalty. Similarly, it is a helmet-to-helmet penalty against the defense even if it is the offense player that lowers his head and initiates the contact. I don’t know about the rest of you, but that is just plain ridiculous to me.

I think it is important to note that not much of what actually happens during a down of football is planned. Everything during a play happens so quickly that most of the contact that takes place is beyond anybody’s control. Because of this, I don’t think the rules that are used to protect defenseless receivers should be applied to quarterbacks in the pocket, unless it is abundantly clear that it was an intentional hit to his head.

It may just be one person’s opinion, but I think the NFL needs to take a serious look at how its rules are negatively affecting the game. I am sure there is a way to protect quarterbacks and other offensive players without making it impossible for the defense to do its job.

The NFL needs to remember that football is a contact sport. In the words of the legendary John Madden: “Basketball is a contact sport, but football is a collision sport,” and hard hits are one of the most popular parts of the game. If the current NFL quarterbacks are too soft to take a hit like the one Brooks put on Brees, perhaps they should find another line of work.

Confessions of a True Alex Smith Fan

Growing up a 49ers fan, I’ll admit it was hard to be pro Alex Smith for the five years from the 2005 through 2010 seasons. However, I, unlike so many others, always gave him the benefit of the doubt. This is mainly because, well the Mikes, Nolan and Singletary that is, seemed to have a knack for taking pretty much any quarterback and making him worse. Additionally, Smith dealt with having four different offensive coordinators throughout those five seasons.


It seemed like Smith finally found the Belichick to his Brady when Jim Harbaugh arrived in San Francisco at the start of the 2011 season. Smith passed for over 3,000 yards with a completion percentage of around 61 percent. Smith also led the 49ers to a 13-3 season, with a first-round playoff bye, making it their winningest season since 1997.

Despite this success, many hailed Alex Smith as simply a “game manager.” He was a mediocre quarterback surrounded by a good offense and incredible defense. His sole purpose on the field was to put up a few scores and leave the rest in the hands of the defense.

Smith did this job impeccably, finishing the season with 19 touchdowns and a 1.123 percent interception rate that was not only a personal best but was also the lowest percentage in the NFL for the 2011 season.

In the 2011 playoffs, I would argue that Smith was much more than a game manager. His 4th quarter performance in the NFC Divisional playoff game against the New Orleans Saints was one of the best late game quarterback performance that I have experienced in my lifetime.

Let’s be real for a second, his touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with nine seconds remaining in the game was affectionately nicknamed “The Catch III” by 49er fans. Anyone who’s heard of either the previous “Catch I” or “Catch II” can understand just how monumental Smith’s play was.

In addition to that stellar performance by Smith, he completed 12 of 26 passes with two touchdowns in the NFC Championship loss to the New York Giants. Despite what many might have thought, that loss goes out entirely to the 49ers special teams players. I can personally attest to that, as many ignorant fans realized Kyle Williams was alive in one second and wanted him dead in the next.

Going into the 2012 season it was clear to everyone that Smith was going to be the 49ers starting quarterback. Harbaugh went so far as to say that “Alex Smith is our starting quarterback. He’s earned that.”

The 2012 season was arguably Smith's best as the 49ers quarterback. He threw for 1,736 yards in nine starts, was named NFC Offense Player of the Week in late October, and had a passer (QB) rating of 104.1. Had he qualified (he was six attempts short), he would have been third amongst all NFL quarterbacks in 2012, behind only Aaron Rogers and Peyton Manning.

The reason why Smith was never able to qualify is well known to almost any NFL fan, even those outside of the Bay Area. Smith got a concussion in that ninth start against the St. Louis Rams and was forced to ride the bench until he had been cleared by an independent neurologist. He was told he wouldn’t lose his starting spot, but onto the scene burst Colin Kaepernick and the rest is, as they say, history. Smith did indeed lose his starting spot and was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs during the offseason.

While the 49ers have gotten off to a somewhat rocky 5-2 start, the Chiefs have the best record in the NFL, a perfect 7-0, led by their quarterback Alex Smith. While his performance this Sunday may have some harkening back to his days as a game manager, Smith has truly become a quarterback, the one the 49ers hoped for when they selected him as the number one pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Now I know I’ll be a pariah among 49er fans for this, but I don’t necessarily think Kaepernick is doing all that much more for us. Kaepernick has eight turnovers this season to Smith’s three. The only benefit of Kaepernick is his ability to run the pistol offense in a way Smith would never have been able to.

Although Kaepernick’s ability to run the read option may prove to have made the discarding of Alex Smith worth it, the way the situation was handled will always leave a bad taste in my mouth. Smith was promised to be Harbaugh’s “guy” and at the first test of that promise, Harbaugh folded. Perhaps it is just the emotional female in me that naively believes in fairness at the NFL level, but if we are all being honest with ourselves, Smith got the seriously short end of the stick on this one.

While I forget about my dislike for the way Harbaugh handled this situation every time the 49ers take the field, I write this not for the apology that I think Smith deserves, but for the praise I think he is due.

I will forever spend every Sunday rooting for Smith because I think he is a true professional and a great football player that deserves the admiration and respect that he never received in San Francisco.

All Smith needed was someone to believe in him and Harbaugh gave that in spades, allowing the 49ers to again become the franchise that all San Franciscans dreamed for. So, from all 49er fans to Smith, I say thank you. Thank you for everything you did and everything you gave to us in your last two seasons in a red and gold jersey.

And as was said during the broadcast of that fateful NFC Championship game, we will never ever doubt you again.

The Reality of Fantasy Sports

As I sat down to watch the 49ers play in the first Sunday Night Football game of 2013 in my dorm, I couldn’t help but feel a rush of jubilation at the thought of a new season, a clean slate for my team after Super Bowl XLVII. But for many football fans a new season holds more excitement than what is simply found in 60 minutes on the gridiron and they work themselves up into a frenzy over one thing, and one thing only: fantasy football. Now this excitement over fantasy teams is in no way unique to NFL fans, but rather there are fantasy leagues for basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, and even auto racing along with many others.


Much like the professional leagues themselves, fantasy sports have become an incredibly lucrative industry. According to IBISWorld US, fantasy sports services have estimated annual profits of $445.8 million from $1.2 billion in revenue. This is not difficult to believe as The Pew Research center reports that 46 percent of those who have fantasy leagues have paid to play. Additionally, IBISWorld US reports that fantasy sports services have been growing rapidly. In a market dominated by ESPN, CBS Corporation, and Yahoo! Inc. in the past five years fantasy sports have grown at an annual rate of 11.7 percent.

This high rate of growth can be easily explained by the growth of the technology industry. In addition to having Internet capabilities in many buildings throughout the world, the development of applications for not just fantasy leagues but sports in general has allowed many fans that might not have played on a computer originally to have the a fantasy league app at their finger tips all day every day.

However, on this Sunday spent sitting on the couch in my dorm, enjoying the 49ers win their third straight game against the Packers, the thoughts of fantasy football hadn’t even crossed my mind. Many friends have told me over the years about how much I would enjoy starting a fantasy team in a variety of sports and yet I have never brought myself to actually do one. This begs the question: if I am already following the sport closely why not draft a team? Well, for two reasons. The first of which is that there are only so many hours in a day and knowing myself as I do, I would become enthralled, spending hours looking up players, stats, etc. trying to craft the best team possible.

 

While this may sound enjoyable to many, I have made the smart decision to direct my time towards more useful endeavors, like actually reading that chapter of homework that was assigned for class. However, the second reason I have never ventured into fantasy sports didn’t become clear to me until this Sunday afternoon. In being the only person from San Francisco on my floor, I was left to enjoy the 49ers game by myself as the Bills and Jets fans filtered out of the TV lounge. But sensing what a fantastic matchup this game was likely to be, some fans returned, many talking about how the game would affect their fantasy teams.

This idea of how a player’s performance can affect your overall score is at the crux of my dislike for fantasy sports. One young man on my floor remarked at how Aaron Rodgers needed to stop throwing to Jordy Nelson because he needed James Jones to pick up a few more yards. Others watching the game urged Colin Kapernick to throw an interception because their competition needed to lose a few points (a suggestion, I might add, that I clearly objected too).

In listening to these ridiculous requests I started thinking about how with the growth of fantasy sports we have lost what made watching sports so enjoyable in the first place. In focusing on how individual players’ performances affect a fantasy score, people may find themselves even rooting against their own team.

Not a bad bet to lose points.

Need someone in the league who has Eli Manning at QB to lose a few points? Then the Giant’s first two games of the season were great even for a die-hard Giants fan.

Have Anquan Boldin on the roster? Screw the Packers then, because after all those points could be the difference in beating the guy that started James Jones at wide receiver.

At the heart of this issue is that in focusing on this microcosm of competition we forget that the purpose of sports is to enjoy the game rooting for one whole team and each and every one of its players. In sports the whole is most definitely greater than the sum of its parts.



President Obama's March Madness Bracket

This same behavior is demonstrated each March as sports fans madly rush to perfect their brackets. In choosing teams for the sake of small time competition, many of us find ourselves rooting against the Cinderella teams that are what makes the NCAA Tournament so great. I myself rooted against Wichita State and Florida Gulf Coast University because they kept busting my bracket, while I should have been cheering for the underdogs that are what make the Tournament more than just a mathematical equation where the winner could easily be found through running a simulation.

While my opinion may be easily dismissed as one ignorant girl’s ideas, my dislike of fantasy sports could be rooted in the fact that only one percent of all females actually play fantasy sports according to The Pew Research Center. Maybe us female sports fans are just missing something from the experience. But for the 14 percent of men 18-29 out there who have fantasy leagues I suggest an evaluation of priorities when it comes to sports. If sports hold no meaning beyond a way to compete with friends, then by all means continue with these fantasy activities.

But if you are like me, your love of sports is rooted in more than just small time competition, and instead in pride for a team and respect for the talent it takes to play at these high levels, it might be worth considering how fantasy leagues affect the way we view sports. For those out there who agree with me I urge the following: save the phone battery and the cash and stop wasting time on fantasy sports.