A Long Wait For a Train Don't Come

The San Francisco 49ers have an unbelievably rich history, and their fans are justifiably proud of their five world championships. Jeez, Jerry Rice is my favorite non-Seahawk player of all time (yes, I know he played for us for about 2/3rds of a season, but the dude is a Niner, period).

However...

For the amount of squawking from their fans and acolytes, you'd think the current 49ers were among the NFL elite. The reality is that they haven't had a winning record or made the playoffs since 2002, and last year blew a chance at postseason play by losing to one of the worst squads in Seahawks history... Remember this?


Despite their terrible recent track record, despite their incredibly slight contemporary resume, you have people like Roger Craig running around talking about how SF is going to "annihilate the West." What possibly justifies this hubris? It sure isn't a spectacular 15-17 record over the last two years, or the vast amount of "talent" the Niners boast at QB these days.

Is it Singletary? His reputation? His blustery dong-waving macho act? His gym-teacher stopwatch? His giant, bullet-stopping, vampire-scaring wooden cross? None of that has amounted to a single notable coaching accomplishment yet.

I know what you're saying... "Well, you could say the same stuff about the Seahawks!" Of course you could. The difference is the Twelve Army doesn't have delusions of grandeur. I think the Seahawks will be competitive this year, and since I'm a huge homer, I think they'll win the West. But given recent history it's batshit insane to think ANY NFC West team is going to "annihilate" the rest of the division.

Hewing to recent history, 9-7 will probably be enough to win the division. It will be a 16-game slog between the Niners, Seahawks and Cardinals, and a trip to the playoffs will probably come down to head-to-head and/or division records. Thus, I can't remember a more pivotal kickoff weekend game than our opener at home against the Niners September 12th...

I'll be there in section 325 screaming my big fat head off... and I will laugh an evil laugh when our Seahawks take down the media-beloved, over-hyped 49ers, and completely fuck up the narrative that the football elites have cooked up for our division in 2010...

What do you think, sirs?