I Thought It Was Spring Training!

The San Francisco 49ers continue to make news even with the Warriors great run in the NBA and the Giants in the heart of spring training.  Here is my take on the 49ers.

I have repeatedly said for years,  "Do not  lose the Super Bowl game." The  49ers lost Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans on February 3, 2013 and my worst fears have come true.  They couldn't get back for another crack at the title and now the window of opportunity for those players has closed.  There are new coaches, new players on offense and defense that have little resemblance to the team that lost to Baltimore.

This is not unique because it happens in all sports.  The withdrawal is tough on everyone management, coaches, players and fans.  It's now time to open a new window and get some fresh air and start building for another run to the Super Bowl.  Jed York, who has made many stupid statements, says the Super Bowl is the team's objective every year.  That's nice words but in the cap world of the NFL it is unrealistic.  I hope fans do not expect instant miracles this year and give the new coaches already heavily criticized an opportunity to be successful and develop a solid contender.

I have been a Forty Niner fan since there first season of 1946 and being at Kezar to see their first exhibition game at home against Crazy Legs Hirsch and the Chicago Rockets.  They along with the Cleveland Browns played good exciting football with crowds starting at 30,000 that grew over a few short years to 60,000 at Kezar.  When the three teams from the All America Football League which also included the Baltimore Colts joined the NFL the Cleveland Browns won the NFL title their first year. Like many normal Forty Niner fans I have gotten upset at decisions that have been made in the past.  Last year, however was hard to stomach. The stories, rumors and gossip about the team and their coach  were planted with over zealous media representatives  like Deion Sanders who could hardly wait to get it on NFL TV.   The actions were childish, immature and destructive that ruined any chance the Forty Niners had to get to Glendale, Arizona for Super Bowl XLIX.  The fans, supporters and especially the season ticket holders deserve more then an apology from the Notre Dame grad who is the man in charge but a 20% credit towards the price of tickets for this coming year.   Now that would be a class act.      I will remain a 49er fan for life. Who could change after 69 years!

Jed York mentioned that the 49ers are a class organization.  I am sorry to say nothing could be further from the truth.  I am not talking about the fact they had to bail out players on Saturday night so they could play on Sunday.  A friend of mine Irwin H who I believe from about 1951 has seen close to 700 straight home games and had purchased a couple of  those expensive seat licenses for the new stadium.  He has been  written up and interviewed on local TV.  When the 49ers got into the Super Bowl he wasn't even offered a chance to buy tickets for the game.  That was unbelievable.  He did get to the game by telling the organizer of the new museum that if he didn't get tickets he wasn't going to donate  hundreds of his game programs.  If I was the owner of the 49ers I would have invited the top 100 or so long time season ticket holders to a lavish 49er party in New Orleans.  Now that would be a class act.  Unfortunately the 49ers think corporations and their big bucks and the hell with the individual season ticket holders who have supported them for years. The team has lost many of their faithful supporters some of whom read this blog with their move to the prune orchards  A large new group of season ticket holders took over last year.  Will they be back this year  to sit in the sweltering sun of those early fall games, with the Forty Niners not being promoted as Super Bowl contenders and with the newness of the stadium having worn off?  I don't know.  But it is hard to imagine 49er home games being blacked out on television. If they are you're always invited to Irvine to view the game.

Will the same thing happen to the Warriors and their move to San Francisco leaving fans that have supported the team through thick and thin for decades?  Lets face it it's all about corporate money. Remember San Francisco could not support the NBA in the past and that is the reason they migrated to the East Bay.