Monday, September 16, 2013

Respect for the Seahawks

I am a San Francisco 49er fan.  A die hard fan.  I've been a fan for over 20 years.  I've seen them be good and I've seen them be bad and I've never stopped being a fan.  One terrible game in Seattle won't cause me to question my loyalty or wonder if they are a championship team.  They are, period!  I am also a fan of the game of football.  I can acknowledge when a team I don't like beats a team I do like through superior play calling and superior defense.  I saw it on Sunday.  I saw a Seattle secondary (mostly Sherman) shut down one of the highest octane offenses in the league.  I don't think I've ever witnessed a clinic on man-coverage like I saw yesterday from Seattle's secondary.  Sherman outplayed Boldin all night.  I didn't like it, but that was the reality.  Seattle's defensive line held Gore to 16 yards on 9 carries.  That is less than 2 yards per carry - something that Gore has never experienced before.  I didn't like it, but that was the reality.  They say that defense wins championships and Seattle has a defense that could win a championship.  I don't like it, but that is the reality.
Now, do I think that suddenly Seattle is going to win the Superbowl?  No.  Both teams are going to the post season, one as division champions one as the wildcard.  Much will depend on whether or not Seattle has any home games.  The strength of their fans and the noise they can generate can't be overlooked.  But, get them out of Seattle and on the road and they are not as dominant.  They are still a very good team, but on the road they are not the same team they are at home.
I love the rivalry between SF and Seattle.  It is about time our division was known as the division where two of the best teams in football lived rather than the division that nobody cared about.  Given how young both teams are and given how hungry both teams are, this is a rivalry that could easily last a very long time and go down as one of the all time great rivalries, similar to the rivalry between the Bears and...well, everyone.
So, from this San Francisco 49er fan to all the Seahawk fans out there:  respect.  Well played.  Great game.  Now, please teach Lynch and Sherman some class and we'll work on not taking stupid retaliatory penalties and acting like thugs when we lose.  Both teams are too good to behave like that. See you in December...in our house.