Sunday, January 15, 2012

49er Faithful

Kickoff was set for 11:30 p.m. Malawi time and there I was at 11:25 scrambling to get 107.7 The Bone Radio Station from the Bay Area to feed me audio from Candlestick Park.  A video feed from an online link was unreliable and the clock was ticking until game time.  My previous attempts to befriend any American diplomat with access to the Armed Forces Network (AFN) failed and my plan b and c were quickly becoming dire.  In the end Coach came to my rescue and was able to set up her Skype video so that I could watch the game via video chat from her living room in Pacifica.  *Thanks for sharing a beer and some time with me buddy.

For four hours I sat at my small dining table watching a 2x2 inch picture with poor, pixilated quality and next to no audio.  The painful reality of what I had been reduced to in order to watch this playoff game became inconsequential after the first three scores of the game were all owned by the 49ers.  As time wore on and the Saints took their first lead late in the fourth quarter my anxiety grew and sitting down no longer became an option.  On a quarter back draw to the left Alex Smith ran 28 yards to the touchdown.  To counter, Drew Breeze hit his receiver over the middle and he rumbled 66 yards for the score.  I bit my nails till there was nothing left.  I swore like a sailer who had been at sea for months.  I screamed out loud despite my housemate sleeping soundly in the next room.  Ultimately, when Alex hit Vernon over the middle for the final score I was stomping my feet on the ground and pumping my fists as if I had made the catch.

Nine years I have waited for this moment of shining redemption.  When you are a diehard fan, staying up until 3:30 in the morning and watching fuzzy figures on a small computer screen is the sacrifices you make.  After all watching your team and their 'lights out' defense become divisional champions is a feeling too sweet to miss.

To have been at the Stick for our glorious win in the final seconds of the game would have been that much more incredible but knowing we will live to see another Sunday is good enough for me.

Fellow red and gold lovers have this to say about the win:

-"Speechless" exclaims Brian Caughell
-"Unreal" says Courtney Coster
-"It took years off of my life" shouts Raymond Camahort

"Who's Got it Better Than Us?"...NOBODY! Thank you Coach Harbaugh    

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