As much as I can't believe I'm saying this, I've been a bit consumed with San Francisco 49er football as of late. This is quite strange for me, yes, but it was only after witnessing their amazing win over the Saints at Candlestick on Saturday that I noticed some parallels between the 2011/2012 49ers and the SF Giants in 2010. (New York seriously needs to re-name their football team, because this is confusing!)
It's not that I don't like the 49ers; I do. I can't say that it's a major passion (nor has it ever been) at this point, but I've gone to a few 49er games over the years, and like with Cal Bear football games, I try to watch 49er games when I can. However, this season is different. Or, at least, the 49er coach is very different. I admit, one of the main reasons I've taken interest in the 49ers this year is Jim Harbaugh. And seeing him in person (though not terribly well) at Saturday's game was one of the more fun aspects of having been there. He's got just the right amount of crazy for me. Anyhow.
It isn't easy to compare a football team and a baseball team, and for a myriad of reasons; the incredibly short versus the incredibly long seasons is a big one. However, when I saw Alex Smith run for a touchdown (I'm still digesting that I witnessed that!) in the 49er game, all I could think of was Cody Ross in the 2010 NLDS. While I hope that Alex Smith doesn't go the way that Ross has, the similarities, at least to me, were striking. The Giants claimed Cody Ross when pretty much no one else wanted him and the expectations for him to do well weren't very high. But when the Giants needed him in the playoffs, he delivered. Big time. When the 49ers signed Alex Smith, it was the opposite; he was expected to really excel. Well, anyone who watches any football knows that that just didn't happen with him, and at some point, most people just gave up on him. It was a "live and learn" situation. But here we are, some six years later, and Alex Smith is a big reason why the 49ers are playing in their first NFC Championship game since 1998. I think a lot of it has to do with Harbaugh, and most people would agree; but the coach can only do so much. Smith didn't have to come through, mostly because so few people were expecting him to, even with a 13-3 season. He picked a rather large stage to rebound on, and, from what I can tell, most opinions seem to be more positive about him.
I remember so distinctly chanting "Cody! Cody! Cody!" during the 2010 playoffs and I found myself doing the same thing on Saturday, except this time it was "Alex! Alex! Alex!" There's something so great about the fact that one bay area team got their championship title in 2010 and another seems well on its way to winning one in 2011/2012. Maybe I'm jinxing things, but that doesn't seem far-fetched right now. If nothing else, the 49ers are helping make the sting of baseball's off season a bit easier to take. I'm hoping that my Niner-themed fingernail/toenail combo works its magic the same way my Giants-themed manicure did during the 2010 World Series. Fingers crossed!
Next time I will dive head-first into some interesting acquisitions/trades I've neglected recently, because I honestly have been keeping up with it all. For true!
No comments:
Post a Comment