By Scary Barry Rodriguez December 22, 2011
( San Francisco ) - This whole season so far has been a " Magical Mystery Trip " for the San Francisco 49ers. Monday night's game reinforced that notion. The Scary one had that vibe on the way to Candlestick park that something was in the air. Once at the stick I was baffled to see so many yellow and black clad Pittsburgh Steeler's fans. They seemed to have taken over the parking lot. Then it was the same way inside the stadium. There was a sea of yellow towels fluttering in the cool breeze of the San Francisco night.
Looking back on things I should have realized that many season ticket holders just made out like bandits selling their game tickets to those fanatic traveling Steeler fans but at the time it was disconcerting to be surrounded by them. Forgive me for digressing a bit. The air was electric before game time and the crowd was buzzing. Then the stadium lights went out and I figured that the 49er's management was going to provide some special type of pyrotechnics since this was to be such a big game. Folks were holding up cigarette lighters just like at a rock concert. I was waiting for the band to appear !
The band never made it and we all sat in the dark left to our own devices. A big brawl broke out in My section that occupied every ones attention for a time. A crowd of men in blue put a halt to the all 49er fan fight. A Steeler's fan , who was on his cell phone with his cousin , advised me that a transformer had blown out. I can only wonder what the Pittburgh Steelers were thinking as they waited on the field for the game to start. The 49ers already know that anything can happen in San Francisco.
The first half of the game was a 6-3 yawner. The Niner defense was predictably good and held down the Steelers and Big Ben Roethlisberger with two interceptions. In the second half the defense held while the Niner offense finally produced some red zone noise when Vernon Davis caught three straight Alex Smith passes including a goal line touchdown reception. One other touchdown was put on on the scoreboard by Frank Gore from five yards out. This iced the game for the 49ers. The Niner defense was dominant forcing four turnovers. The 49er fans yelled their heads off and put the Steeler fans to shame , crying out " defense " ! The game was over early in the fourth quarter and the Steeler fans started packing up and leaving in droves. They weren't waving yellow flags anymore.
Once again I was certain that the opposing quarterback's statistics would look good on paper. Alex Smith's game stats are always less but he just isn't making turnovers this season. The opposition goes up and down the field yet in the end they don't score enough to win. The Vic Fangio coached defense gives way but doesn't break. It makes no difference if its the Philadelphia Eagles , New York Giants or the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. All those teams deemed by east coast bias to be superior to the Niners have not impressed me ! The ESPN crowd talks about the east coast teams until they're blue in the face ! The next day after beat the bullies from Pittsburgh the Niners no longer existed for the press.
Funny thing about success it breeds strange reactions. Even San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee got in some grandstanding time calling the power outages a " national disgrace ". The local politicians have put the City by the Bay on the map by being " bush league " when it comes to keeping the team in town. Fans have only ex-mayor Gavin Newsom to thank for letting his ego have priority over diplomacy when dealing with the 49er ownership.
Note: This article is dedicated to the military service members returning from Iraq and those still serving in Afghanistan.
( San Francisco ) - This whole season so far has been a " Magical Mystery Trip " for the San Francisco 49ers. Monday night's game reinforced that notion. The Scary one had that vibe on the way to Candlestick park that something was in the air. Once at the stick I was baffled to see so many yellow and black clad Pittsburgh Steeler's fans. They seemed to have taken over the parking lot. Then it was the same way inside the stadium. There was a sea of yellow towels fluttering in the cool breeze of the San Francisco night.
Looking back on things I should have realized that many season ticket holders just made out like bandits selling their game tickets to those fanatic traveling Steeler fans but at the time it was disconcerting to be surrounded by them. Forgive me for digressing a bit. The air was electric before game time and the crowd was buzzing. Then the stadium lights went out and I figured that the 49er's management was going to provide some special type of pyrotechnics since this was to be such a big game. Folks were holding up cigarette lighters just like at a rock concert. I was waiting for the band to appear !
The band never made it and we all sat in the dark left to our own devices. A big brawl broke out in My section that occupied every ones attention for a time. A crowd of men in blue put a halt to the all 49er fan fight. A Steeler's fan , who was on his cell phone with his cousin , advised me that a transformer had blown out. I can only wonder what the Pittburgh Steelers were thinking as they waited on the field for the game to start. The 49ers already know that anything can happen in San Francisco.
The first half of the game was a 6-3 yawner. The Niner defense was predictably good and held down the Steelers and Big Ben Roethlisberger with two interceptions. In the second half the defense held while the Niner offense finally produced some red zone noise when Vernon Davis caught three straight Alex Smith passes including a goal line touchdown reception. One other touchdown was put on on the scoreboard by Frank Gore from five yards out. This iced the game for the 49ers. The Niner defense was dominant forcing four turnovers. The 49er fans yelled their heads off and put the Steeler fans to shame , crying out " defense " ! The game was over early in the fourth quarter and the Steeler fans started packing up and leaving in droves. They weren't waving yellow flags anymore.
Once again I was certain that the opposing quarterback's statistics would look good on paper. Alex Smith's game stats are always less but he just isn't making turnovers this season. The opposition goes up and down the field yet in the end they don't score enough to win. The Vic Fangio coached defense gives way but doesn't break. It makes no difference if its the Philadelphia Eagles , New York Giants or the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. All those teams deemed by east coast bias to be superior to the Niners have not impressed me ! The ESPN crowd talks about the east coast teams until they're blue in the face ! The next day after beat the bullies from Pittsburgh the Niners no longer existed for the press.
Funny thing about success it breeds strange reactions. Even San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee got in some grandstanding time calling the power outages a " national disgrace ". The local politicians have put the City by the Bay on the map by being " bush league " when it comes to keeping the team in town. Fans have only ex-mayor Gavin Newsom to thank for letting his ego have priority over diplomacy when dealing with the 49er ownership.
Note: This article is dedicated to the military service members returning from Iraq and those still serving in Afghanistan.
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