NFL: Coming To Grips With The Inevitable

What can I say... if I'm anything, I'm a San Francisco 49ers fan.



The first hero athlete that I remember was Joe Montana when I wasn't even four years old, as he beat the mighty Dallas Cowboys in 1981. It was a thrilling last-second touchdown pass to Dwight Clark that introduced Joe Montana to the world, and after all of these years I think I've identified what drew me to him (if I even had a reason at 3 years old) was this: After he made that pass, everyone around the guy was going absolutely crazy. The announcers, the fans, my Dad (I'm guessing)... but Joe had this way about him. He was excited, but he had a look in his eye suggesting that he knew what was going to happen all along.

As I grew up, Joe Montana proceeded to rattle off no less than FOUR Super Bowl wins for the 49ers. The gold-rush symbolism of the team mascot was appropriate, because as a fan, I had struck gold. Following their first Super Bowl win over the Cincinatti Bengals in Super Bowl XVI, Montana led the Niners to championships in every way imaginable:


Beating back a young Dan Marino and his Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX


Chalking up a dramatic game-winning drive late in the game to defeat the Bengals again in Super Bowl XXIII


Blowing the Denver Bronocos out of the building with a 55-10 victory in Super Bowl XXIV

Obviously, I was in football heaven. And even though the years to follow brought humiliation (Roger Craig's fumble against the Giants, crushing the Niners' chances of a three-peat in 1990) and a quarterback controversy, when Steve Young emerged as the team's starter following Montana's elbow injury, it seemed only natural. I was gonna miss Joe and it killed me to see him go to the Kansas City Chiefs, but I also knew that Camelot couldn't last forever.



The Niners' fifth and final (to date) Super Bowl victory (Super Bowl XXIX) was perhaps the most inspiring, because it meant that the team had to rise from the ashes to behead the NFL's new dynasty, the Jimmy Johnson-era Dallas Cowboys, in order to even get there (once they did, they crushed the San Diego Chargers 49-26). Young had proven just as capable of a competitor as Montana, though not as cool and collected and probably far more intense, but the knowledge that he would run headlong into a 290-pound defensive end was endearing as hell.

Young's career was brought to a premature end after head injuries forced him into retirement. When he retired, he and Montana were the two highest-rated quarterbacks in NFL history.

Things got scary when Young started getting concussions, but it wasn't scary for fear of Young's health (he never got the frightening limp-on-the-turf-for-10-minutes concussions - he was the run-off-the-field type). It was for fear of who would fill his shoes. Over the years, playing backup in the Niners' powerful west coast offense made multi-millionaires of backups like Elvis Grbac and Steve Bono (who both went on to have mediocre-or-worse careers as starters but were paid well for it), and when things didn't work out with first-round draft pick Jim Druckenmiller, the ball was handed to former Canadian League standout Jeff Garcia.


Jeff Garcia

Who?

But the light shined on Garcia like it had on those who had come before him at the helm for the Niners. He never won a Super Bowl, but in five seasons with the Niners he threw for 113 touchdowns and over 16,000 yards for a QB rating of 88.3.

Now Garcia is a Cleveland Brown, and while Tim Rattay proved a capable backup last season, I'll be hoping from now until next season starts that some of that 49er magic rubs off on him, too.

Must all good things end?

========================================================================================
Got something to say? E-mail me at worldaccordingtomontyblog@go.com. I'll do my best to answer all respectful mail and will periodically answer the best messages on the site.

Democratic Nomination Post-Game... How They Finished, etc.

A PAGE OUT OF THE BUSH PLAYBOOK?

With all meaningful contenders having pulled out of the race, it's clear that the Democratic Nomination belongs to Senator John Kerry (D-MA).

I'd liken the campaign for the nomination to a horse race - there were a few moves that made it interesting but the favorite won in the end, and it was short and sweet.

Kerry had a little more competition than President Bush did for the Republican Nomination in 2000, but their ascents to their respective nominations have paralells that are worth noting.

Think about it... wealthy Yale baby-boomer is deemed by the media and political elite as the front-runner. (Dubaya/Kerry)

Straight-talker emerges from the fringes with a grass-roots run at the nomination. (Howard Dean/John McCain)

In the end, the party elite portray the straight-talking underdog as "too angry" or "unstable" and the Yale alum wins in the long run by moving away from the center to the party's base. Hmm.



RATING HOW THEY RAN

Now that it's all over, here's how they all fared in retrospect...


1. John Kerry

Things looked grim for a while, but his patience and refusal to go negative paid off in the end. Delivered the message of "electability" just in time, cleverly letting Gephardt, Lieberman and Dean wound each other in Iowa as he pulled away unscathed. Carried that momentum all the way through the country.

2. Howard Dean

If Kerry goes on to win the Presidency, he'd better thank Howard Dean for getting the Dems good and riled up to oust Dubaya.


3. John Edwards

Began with a positive message and stuck to it, even when he could have made the race uglier by trying to drag Kerry into a dogfight down the stretch. Full of energy and charisma, his ability to engage in one-on-one debate is captivating.


4. Al Sharpton

Called the frontrunning candidates to the mat to talk about real urban and minority issues that otherwise may have been avoided by political speak, but never resorted to race-baiting.


5. Wesley Clark

The Clinton-inspired fanfare that accompanied his entry into the race benefitted the party twofold. First, it brought the issue of military background to the forefront, something which is now benefitting Kerry in his race with Bush. Second (and more importantly), his exposure as a fairly weak candidate showed the party's base that perhaps there is more to the future (and present) than the Clintons.



========================================================================================
Got something to say? E-mail me at worldaccordingtomontyblog@go.com. I'll do my best to answer all respectful mail and will periodically answer the best messages on the site.