When I was less than a year old, my parents bought me a Joe Montana doll. Joe Montana was a four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and is considered by many to be the greatest quarterback of all time. As a young kid, I played with the Joe Montana doll all the time and had it by my side constantly. Along with all the 49ers shirts and jerseys, and even my 49ers helmet I wore all the time, I was quickly brainwashed into a devoted little 49ers fan before I even knew what football really was or could even throw a spiral.
My father was a die-hard 49ers fan, being born in San Francisco, so in a lot of ways, my obsession with the team was pre-determined before I was even born. But the level of which my infatuation with the 49ers affected my everyday life was astounding. I always wanted to be the red team in whatever game or sport I played. I always chose 49ers players like Jerry Rice or Steve Young when I had to talk about my heroes in elementary school. And in everything I did, I always had to be number 16. It was my favorite number, and I never knew why until I found out later as a 12 year-old: it was Joe Montana’s number. Same number I had seen a thousand times on my favorite toy as a little kid had been ingrained into me without me even realizing it.
This Sunday, the 49ers will be playing in the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years, and for me, this Sunday represents 10 years of devoted servitude finally coming to fruition. Watching the NFL on Sundays is practically part of our religion in my household, and when I started watching every 49ers game with my dad as a 10-year-old, I had expected the amazement and glory of all the past 49ers teams my dad had told me so much about over the years. Instead I got stuck with eight straight seasons without a winning record, and a list of starting quarterbacks that would make any fan cry. Instead of the likes of Joe Montana and Steve Young, I was forced to sit through the likes of Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, Shaun Hill, J.T. O’Sullivan, and worst of all, the perpetually injured and uncertainty that was Alex Smith. I don’t know what’s worse, trying to convince myself every year that this was the year Alex Smith would turn the corner, or that I actually began to really like mediocre Shaun Hill just in comparison to the rest of the horrible quarterbacks I lived through.
I got so used to disappointment and failure to the point it really didn’t bother me anymore when we lost each season; at that point I had just I expected it as a 49ers fan. And then Jim Harbaugh came to the 49ers and put on a coaching clinic the last two years that can only be rivaled by the great Nick Saban himself. And since then, as a 49ers fan, everything has changed.
I spent 20 hours at the library this past weekend in preparation of my big accounting exam, and was immensely stressed in the hours leading up to the test. But I wasn’t stressed about the exam; I was stressing about the game on Sunday. It’s always hard to explain to non-sports fans how important sports are to me, but the amount of joy a 49ers win on Sunday would bring me is potentially only replicated by the joy of my future wedding day. And if the 49ers lose, well let’s just say I have already told a couple friends to check in on me Monday and Tuesday to make sure I’m okay.
At this point in my life, just like my curly hair and my dreadful singing voice, I’ve learned my zealous 49ers fandom is just a part of who I am, and Sunday will be one of the most important days of my young life. Now I’m just praying I’ll get to remember it well in the future. Go Niners.
Also in today’s Crimson White:
UA announces dates for A-Day, 2013 Homecoming
Wins during 1st weekend supply motivation for women’s tennis team
