A 49ers Fan Recapping the Most Important Football Game (to Her) of the Post-Season

Ok, so we are set up for a really good Superbowl in a couple weeks. The NFL's #1 Defense (Seattle Seahawks) won last night against my 49ers, and they will be playing the #1 Offense team, the Denver Broncos (for non-football viewers, this is Peyton Manning's team, aka the best QB in the league), on Feb. 2.

For anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook, you probably already know how I feel about last night's game, where my Niners suffered a definitive loss when, in what should have been a great TD pass to Crabtree, Kaepernick's last-chance play was picked by the Seahawks in the end zone when Seattle's Richard Sherman tipped the ball to his teammate.

Devastating.



First, a recap. (Feel free to scroll down if you already know what happened)

The whole game was characterized by immense physicality in the first quarter, where 49er James was clearly fouled when the opponent grabbed his face mask and pulled his helmet off completely during a tackle. Another 49er, Pro Bowler Iupati fractured his left ankle in 1Q as well. Yet another SF Pro Bowler, the amazing linebacker Bowman, sacrificed his ACL and MCL in a gross knee injury while recovering a fumble at the goal line, preventing a Seahawks touchdown (this recovery was deemed by refs as unreviewable and possession given back to Seattle— I am struggling not to use caps-lock to convey my emotion). 

The James injury. A better angle shows SEA intentionally grabbing at the face mask and yanking the chin up, which is why his helmet comes off completely.

From the beginning of the game it was clear who the 12th Man on the field was: the referee! Ugh, so frustrating. 

After the second half, the Seahawks finally toned down their aggression and started playing some real football. Unfortunately, their gained momentum got the best of my Niners. Kaepernick gave away the ball in a few too many interceptions. Despite our QB earning his league-best run of 58 yards in the first half (where he literally slowed down at the 20-yd to look back and see if anyone was actually still chasing him), Seattle's own offense had the superior rushing in the second half, leading to a 7-point lead at the 2-min mark. 

With less than a minute to go, as I recapped above, Kaepernick finally decided to throw to Crabtree after ignoring him all game, who was waiting in the end zone. Unfortunately, Seahawks CB Richard Sherman tipped the ball out of Crabtree's grasp, and the game ended with a Seattle interception. 

Now that you have the 4-hour game summarized in a few paragraphs, let me just let you figure out the rest of the context and make my points here. I was pissed the whole game. Here's why:

1. The Seahawks and the 49ers are my two favorite NFL teams.

• The Niners are my home team, but I went to college in Washington. They're like my second home team. Not to mention they have been amazing over the years, and this year the football gods delivered unto Seattle the best defense EVER. 
• The 49ers, also an amazingly strong defense team, meant that this SF-vs-SEA would be an awesome game

2. Instead of a great game, the Best Game Ever was like WWE with bad officiating

• Nasty defense plays, uncalled fouls, devastating injuries....meanwhile, where's the football? Ugh
• Call after call after call...Seriously. By the second half, the refs finally started calling Seahawks on holding, false starts, the occasional offsides....But when it mattered (see: James injury and 'un-reviewable' Bowman recovery), the refs were pretty obvious who they had their money on. 

3. Seahawks fans apparently don't know what a good game looks like

• I'm going to get a lot of flack for the above statement, but seriously. I received the typical comments like, "Forty-Whiner" and "Don't be such a sore loser." It's not whining if you're calling it like you see it (I can admit that Kaepernick dropped the ball on our end). I would be disappointed and appalled with my own team if they acted half as unsportsmanlike or unprofessional as the Seahawks did this weekend. 
• Fans defending the foul play or Sherman's embarrassing post-game interview are excellent examples of GroupThink, the psychological phenomenon that occurs when strong group identities overrun an individual's ability to make decisions or determine right from wrong. 
• Honestly I think the fans defending foul actions are probably band-wagoners. Real Seahawks fans would understand how bad calls can make or break your team's chances (see: the great Superbowl upset of 2006, where even the head referee ...and Steelers coach....and Steelers players... admits the bad calls favored the Steelers). 

4. Sherman defenders are also defending unprofessionalism, poor sportsmanship, and egotism in professional football. 

• Ironic, considering Seahawks fans were comparing the saintly Lynch to a supposedly 'self-absorbed' Kaepernick the week before. Now apparently, it's okay to be so wrapped up in a game and a victory that you can make the win about you, bad-mouth the loser, then proceed to jump into the stadium and run around with a trophy. As long as you're a Seahawk.
• See Peyton Manning's response to their win on Sunday — now that's a professional
• I get it: football is, in nature, physical, aggressive, and competitive. It still doesn't excuse poor behavior. Otherwise DUIs, criminal activity, and other breaches of the morality clause would be deemed irrelevant in NFL contracts
• As a sports professional, you represent the team, the city, the money backing you as a player....Not to mention you serve as a role model to America's youth. 
• There's a reason players have to wear suits and ties in the pressroom, are supposed to be involved in charities, etc. 
• So don't make excuses for face mask grabs, tauntings, and egotistical post-game interviews — especially if you wouldn't accept it from the opposing team

5. That being said, racist attributions of Sherman's interview are uncalled for, ridiculous, and equally disappointing

• I still don't understand how his interview shows what a 'thug' he is. Using the n-word was outright appalling. I'm not going to justify his status by saying he graduated from Stanford University, because socioeconomic status does not justify as an 'exception' from the Black Thug stereotype. 
• He has dreads, plays football, has a big stature, and is notorious for smack-talk. That doesn't mean he fits your idea of some racist stereotype
• So quit it. Racism is more disgusting than bad officiating.

And there you have it. So, while I think the Seattle's superior defense will lead to a West Coast victory at the Superbowl, after this past weekend's disappointing results, I'll be rooting for a Denver win. Because at least they know how to play football (and I mean real football), and they know how to be gracious victors.

Sorry, not sorry.

Sincerely,

A Niner Faithful and Football Purist