When Next Year was HERE.

[gridlore]

This Wednesday will mark the 25th anniversary of Superbowl XVI

San Francisco 49ers: 26
Cincinnati Bengals: 21

For my entire life, the winter ritual was the same. Either shut off the TV set after the last Niners game of the season, or wait until my parents returned from the game to make the formal declaration that we would Wait Until Next Year. It was hard being a Niner Faithful in the 70s.. we sucked, and all my schoolmates were rooting for Dallas or Pittsburgh.. or even the Raiders! (ewww..) I will admit a brief affair with the New York Jets, but I was 3 at the time and everybody wanted to be Joe Namath.

But then things changed. Bill Walsh came in in as head coach, and began building a winning team based around a Notre Dame QB that nobody expected to go in the draft.. kid named Joe, drafted in the 3rd round (82nd overall pick) of the 1979 draft. That year, we went 2-14. But in 1980, the record improved to 6-10, and then came 1981.

We went 13-3, the best record in team history up until then. Reaching the NFC Championship by beating the New York Giants, we faced the hated Dallas Cowboys on January 10th, 1982. It was a great game, best remembered for a play called Red Right Tight--Sprint Right Option but better remembered simply as The Catch.

49ers going to the Superbowl!

Here's where I'll let the pros take over. Articles from the next's day's San Francisco Chronicle:

Offense Takes 20-0 Lead; Defense Saves 26-21 Win

VICTORY! The City goes wild

and, of course, Herb Caen's take on things.

The new rulers of the universe

Want more? Here's a PDF of that day's paper! Fun to look it, if only for the advertisements. Wow, a 48k Apple II for only $4100?

THE 49ERS WIN IT ALL

NEXT YEAR is HERE!

Comments

[claire.livejournal.com]

Now that I'm here, I've been watching some football. I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. Even with having once dated someone who explained to me the rules in detail (he was a rabid Redskins fan - which I forgave him for, seeing how he was from Washington and all). I suspect it's due to the "WTF Sport Rules?" section of my brain still trying to understand cricket. I should probably give up on the cricket - despite being born in one country that's a mad cricketing nation, then moving to another country that's a mad cricketing nation, I still don't understand it. Sometimes I think no-one understands it and they make all the rules up.

*goes back to trying to figure out what a 'down' is*

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

A "down" is a term for a team's chance to run a play. When a team gets the ball, they have four downs, or tries, to advance the ball 10 yards. If they fail to do this, the ball goes over to the defending team. As a rule, if you haven't made the ten yards after three tries, you kick the ball away (punting) on 4th down.

[dafydd.livejournal.com]

I note with amusement that Mr. Caen's column predates the late, lamented WashBAG's acquiring that particular appelation. And, that Washington Square Barngrill was a previous attempt at a nickname...