The Demise Of The San Francisco 49ers
By Anthony Bertacchi/KHTK Sports 1140
Well, good job, good effort, you tried your best and any other positive slogans you say to teams that don't win it all at the end of the season. After Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers are now officially eliminated from playoff contention. The best they can do at this point is mess up the seasons for the San Diego Chargers and/or the Arizona Cardinals over the next two weeks. It wasn't that long ago that the 49ers were considered one of the elite franchises of the NFL. Now, they've lost five of their last eight games and look confused, at best, on offense as everything falls in disarray.
This question is for 49er fans specifically: do you remember how you felt last season? Do you remember how you felt before this same matchup between the Seahawks and the 49ers nearly eleven months ago (January 19, 2014)? Would you have believed it if you were told the laundry list of events that have transpired over the past year if it was told to you? Since it's near Christmas let's travel back in time like the Ghost of Christmas Past.
It was 1st and 10 at the 18-yard line of the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers were driving and San Francisco fans were optimistic about what, they hoped, would be a 49er touchdown at the end of the game. Then, in what might as well have been foreshadowing for the next 12 months, Colin Kaepernick threw a pass intended for Michael Crabtree in the end zone. This is where the bottom falls out for both the team and the fan base.
The pass was underthrown, Richard Sherman tipped the ball, Malcolm Smith intercepted the pass and soon the entire world was introduced to Richard Sherman and everything he had to say. It's been almost 11 months since that pass and the 49ers have gone from hopeful champions to some mixture of a sewage leak inside of a dumpster fire.
First, the Seahawks (the 49ers' top rival) demolished the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. Then, Aldon Smith was suspended nine games for the countless number of things he's been associated with over the years. Don't forget about the injuries to Navorro Bowman and Patrick Willis, they matter as well. Now that once fearsome defense of the 49ers has become excessively depleted. Mix in health concerns to Vernon Davis and the age of Frank Gore and the deck was really being stacked against this team.
Oh, right, and Jim Harbaugh is fighting with executives within the organization. So, he's as good as gone. Other than that, everything has gone great for San Francisco.
Now, let's travel with the Ghost of Christmas Present to today. At this point, every 49er fan within a 200-mile radius of the bay wants blood. They want Kaepernick out, they want Harbaugh gone and they want to have the happiness they felt over the last three years back, it doesn't matter how they get it, they just want it back.
Then the final gut punch for the fan base came last week when the 49ers traveled across the bay to face the Oakland Raiders. The only problem was that they lost 24-13. This is the same Raider team that hasn't had a winning record in over a decade and the same Raider team that lost the week before to the St. Louis Rams 52-0.
Yes, this last loss was the statistical final nail in the coffin but the loss in Oakland was the metaphorical kick in the junk that made fans finally realize that whatever delusions of winning they had were severely mistaken.
It was the equivalent of thinking you could hit a major league fastball by Clayton Kershaw. Then, in an effort to prove how good you are, you swing and miss dozens of times at the local batting cages as it pitches at 40 mph. That confidence is now long gone.
Think back to earlier this year. Think back to January 18th, 2014 to be exact. It was the day before the NFC Championship Game. You're a fan of the prestigious San Francisco 49ers and you're in the middle of a nice run that includes a trip to a third straight NFC Championship Game. It's a great feeling; it's something you'll remember for a little while with a little bit of pride. After all, the coach you had before Harbaugh dropped his pants at halftime of a game to inspire his players. True story.
Now, the empire you've rooted for is crumbling and fans are ready to yell at whoever becomes the scapegoat at the end. This story has no Ghost of Christmas Future however, good luck next year. That short-lived run may very well be over after Jim Harbaugh decides he's had enough.
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