Why It’s Cool To Be A 49er Again
Rewind 30 years and the San Francisco 49ers were starting out on their journey as the “Team of the 80’s”.
Head Coach Bill Walsh turned an ailing franchise around with the help of a few legends of the game. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Roger Craig are just three names that made the Niners a team to be feared; one that would dominate teams before they even set foot on the field.
Present day and current Coach Jim Harbaugh is installing a new type of winning into the Red and Gold.
They are young, fast and hungry, and after last February’s narrow defeat to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl they are desperate to go back and go one step further.
With the option-running quarterback play of Colin Kaepernick, the offense is one to be feared again, racking up points from all directions, The hard running of Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham and Vernon Davis were Kaepernick’s favourite targets last year as they had over 160 catches and 16 touchdowns between them. Aldon Smith led the defense, not least because of his 19.5 sacks, his very presence on the gridiron inspires his teammates.
This year’s “Farewell to Candlestick” campaign may well be further inspiration to the organisation. The franchise will up sticks after this season and play in the brand new sparkling jewel of the NFL. The new stadium in Santa Clara has already had heads turning in its design, but now more than ever after naming rights were announced. All these exciting players and more will be playing at Levi’s Stadium, all thanks to a whopping 20 year, $220M deal.
These are exciting times indeed. Need more proof?
Just ask our very own Lawrence Okoye.
The British Olympic star was still learning how to put shoulder pads on when he was snapped up to go over to the NFC West team. He has a better chance on the 49ers than elsewhere because of defensive line coach Jim Tomsula.
“His background in NFL Europe was something that really appealed to me,” Okoye said of Tomsula.
“Obviously, he’s worked with guys that have hardly played the game before…he sees potential in me and he’s made it clear that he wants to take me all the way. That’s something I’m really happy about. I can’t wait to work with him day in and day out.” Okoye told Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com
They could turn out to be in the most exciting division in all of football this year, with the talented Seahawks, the hard to beat Rams, and the unpredictable Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers won’t have it all their own way. This just adds to the drama of course, being the hunted team, the one which has more to lose will fire up the opposition. There is no doubting the huge talent on this team, they will be out to show that last season’s run was no fluke, and then to prove to themselves that they can go one step further and win the franchises sixth Super Bowl championship.
