by Daisy Barringer
In any typical situation, the 49ers trailing by 14 points at the end of the first quarter would be a real cause for concern. There would be cussing, hair pulling, hand wringing, and all of the rest of it. Then, after the 49ers play almost an entire other quarter of football and only manage to kick a single field goal, I’d likely be calling for everyone to be fired. The whole lot of ‘em.
But luckily for everyone involved, yesterday the 49ers played the St. Louis Rams. So even though we suuuuuuuucked for almost an entire half of football, I was like “No big deal; we got this.” And I was right. (I LOVE BEING RIGHT.)
In a real role reversal, it was actually the 49ers offense last night that had to make up for the terrible play by the 49ers defense during the first half. I don’t want to rehash all the sloppy play and missed tackles (nor could I since I spent the earlier part of the day judging a margarita contest, effectively making everything after 2pm a bit of a blur), but needless to say the Niners D did not perform the way we all expect them to. (Blame also goes to TE Vance McDonald who fumbled a pass, giving the Rams the ball on their own 45 yard line, and setting them up to score.)
So with only 27 seconds left in the first half and a score of 14-3, it pretty much looked like the Niners were going to slump off to the locker room and try to figure out something anything to get themselves back in the game. But then Kaepernick was like, “Well we COULD wait until the second half. Or I could just throw this 80-yard bomb to Brandon Lloyd for a touchdown NOW and make the score 14-10.” So he did that and suddenly everything looked a little shinier and brighter. Oh, and that touchdown? The longest one of Kaepernick’s career.
Can we pause for a moment in a way that’s totally awkward to discuss San Francisco 49ers fans? I watched the game at San Francisco Athletic Club, a new sports bar on Divisadero that’s huge, has a bazillion flat screens, and is definitely worth checking out just because there’s really no sports bar in SF like it. The place was packed with people in red, but it just kind of seemed like no one really cared. I mean, yes, they cheered for touchdowns, but other than that, the crowd felt lackluster. I tried to imagine a group of Eagles fans just sort of sitting around not really caring and even though I despise that team and the people who cheer for it, you’ve got to at least admit they wouldn’t be chit-chatting about sparkle glitter nail polish on a big third down.
It’s almost like SF fans like the idea of liking football more than they actually like football. Which, I mean, good for them, I guess. As long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters, but it’s just a little bizarre since I love the game more than almost anything else and can’t imagine only sort of caring. I respect football. I revere it. There’s not a second of the game that’s boring to me (well maybe kickoffs stupid 35-yard-line rule). Like, even punts to me can be a thing of beauty. (If the dark days of the Niners losing seasons taught me to appreciate anything, it was Andy Lee and his magical leg.)
Still it was nice, I suppose, that the fans got excited for the Anquan Boldin TD to start the second half. And for the 32-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree. And they did seem happy when Dontae Johnson intercepted the ball for a pick six to put away the game with just under a minute left. Although perhaps that was because they’d get home in time to catch The Real Housewives. Hard to tell
Overall, it was a good performance by the 49ers, fans be damned. They started off slow, which was a change from what we’re used to this year, but proved that the whole “we totally suck in the second half” thing was just an unfortunate phase.
The bad news: Patrick Willis suffered a toe injury during the second quarter and has to have an MRI today. Jimmie Ward was also unable to play last night and it’s unclear when he’s going to be back. (Iupati was out with a concussion but he should be fine for next week; I’m totally a doctor in my free time.) Also, Vernon Davis looked a little iffy for most of the night with some really stupid drops and that whole “I’m trying to steal Vance McDonald’s touchdown” fiasco that resulted zero points instead of six. But I mean, it’s Vernon. He’ll be fine.
Finally: the 49ers are traveling to Denver to play Sunday Night Football next week and we’re underdogs for the first time all season. It’s going to be a tough matchup and, frankly, I’m not sure we can pull out the win, but oh, who am I kidding? I believe. I always believe. It’s just what one does when she’s a Niners fan. You made it this far in the column; you get it.
