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| Alex Smith winds up for the most important throw of his career. |
I have been a San Francisco 49ers fan ever since I moved to the city way back in 2004 (I have since moved back to Canada). That was also the first year of me becoming a football fan. I did some minimal research and just decided to go with the team whose city I lived in. To say that the first season was tough would be an understatement; the team went 2-14 and I sat through every game, every single excruciating game. I could have just given up then, after all, I was moving back to Canada and would not owe the 49ers anything really. Why did I decide to remain a fan? Was it because I already watched an entire season and grew to like some players? (Brandon Lloyd was my favorite, he caught some huge passes in the 49ers 2 wins which were both in OT and both against the Cardinals). Was it because I fell in love with the 49ers legacy, which I had learned about throughout the season? To be honest, I have no idea why I didn't just pick a new team, but for the better part of 8 years I almost wished that I did. Then this season started, and the 49ers reminded me that sticking through the shit has its payoffs (mainly, that once they finally became good I would appreciate the team a lot more).
It all started with a home game against the Seahawks in which Ted Ginn Jr. broke 2 punts for TDs effectively making a close game turn into a 33-17 rout. At that time my thoughts were that in the NFC West, anything can happen and that maybe just maybe this year the 49ers would break through. That optimism turned to anger the next week when the team blew a big lead against the Cowboys, the 49ers' long time rival (check the 80's and 90's if you don't believe me. That anger disappeared though, because San Francisco would not lose again for 10 weeks. Jim Harbaugh's crew rattled off 9 straight wins including an amazing comeback against the Eagles, last second heroics from Alex Smith against the (then undefeated) Detroit Lions, and an incredible back-and-forth game against the Giants which the 49ers won with a defensive stand in the last minute. By this point it was clear that San Francisco would make the playoffs, and for a few weeks that is all I cared about as I enjoyed life as a football fan for the first time. The game that San Francisco made its return to prime-time with a win over the Steelers was the game that I started wondering: "Can this team actually make some noise in the playoffs?". Throughout the year analysts, experts, and writers were claiming that the 49ers' style would not work, not without a dominant QB. In their opinion, Alex Smith would be the reason that San Francisco would eventually fail. Now the playoffs had started, and everyone was excited to watch a Green Bay New Orleans NFC championship. Wait? What? We are just going to write off a San Francisco team that has been proving everyone wrong since game 1? 'Drew Brees is too good' they said, 'they wont stop him'. Didn't San Francisco have a top defense this year though? 'Does not matter, Alex Smith will kill their hopes' they said. After Brees and the Saints ripped apart the Lions (a team San Francisco barely beat) everyone was hopping on to the Saints bandwagon. I had my doubts heading into the game too, but I would not stop believing because this team earned at least that much; support from a fan base used to excellence and subjected to 8 years of mediocrity.
