At one point during the power outage of the Super Bowl in the second half, I was openly willing to sell my soul to whatever demon or god would take it in return for a 49ers comeback victory. There were a lot of questions I had to contemplate, like was I supposed to look up to the sky, or look down to the ground, or even stare forward when offering my soul? Would a contract actually appear and would I have to sign it in blood? The one Mercedes-Benz commercial that aired in the second half, when the guy was considering selling his soul in order to get the car and the glamour that came with it, seemed eerily similar to what I was trying to do. Regardless, the game played out and I learned only one thing on Sunday: Apparently my soul was only worth 25 points.
That being said, Sunday showed how depressed and desperate I truly felt as I watched my 49ers get demolished in the first half. For once I was actually able to sympathize with how Auburn fans must have felt for most of the season. Did the 49ers fan in the Bud Light commercial not sit in his lucky seat for the game? Or was it tainted by the two guys in the Bud Light Super Bowl commercial who took the lucky chair to that voodoo man in New Orleans, La.? These are questions I was seriously worried about over the course of the game. And my ex-girlfriend once said I don’t care enough about anything.
Then the 49ers “flipped the switch,” “turned the lights on,” “powered up” and well, okay, you get the point with the power outage jokes. But when the lights came back on, the 49ers finally looked like the team that I had watched all season along. They were dominant at the line, played showdown defense, and wouldn’t lose without at least putting up a hell of a fight.
As a San Francisco Giants fan and UA student, I’ve seen an inordinate amount of comeback victories from my teams. The Giants came back from being down 2-0 and 3-1 in back to back series before winning the World Series, and Alabama had come back from 21-10 and scored with less than a minute left to beat Georgia and LSU. Just two weeks ago in person I saw the 49ers come back from a 17-0 deficit to the beat the Falcons in Atlanta, Ga. But from the moment the 49ers started its come back, it never felt like the Georgia game or the Falcons game. It only reminded me of the Texas A&M loss.
I’m honestly not even sure how to describe the feeling of the loss. In the span of three hours I went from being frustrated, to depressed, to hopeful, to excited to absolutely crushed. It was like getting broken up with a long-time girlfriend, then seeing her with a couple other guys and feeling down, then having her reeling you back in with texts and calls of her missing you, only to show up at her apartment with flowers as her new boyfriend opens the door and punches you in the face.
Was there holding on the final play of the game? Was the ball even catchable? I don’t know. I really don’t know. At this point it’s impossible for me to have any rationale or sensible thought on anything concerning the Super Bowl for a couple weeks.
It’s gloomy and cloudy outside Monday morning. I guess that’s fitting given my mood. But on the bright side – no pun intended – the team will be mostly back next year. And Colin Kaepernick should be even better with more experience. And entire coaching staff is somehow miraculously returning next year.
I was told on multiple occasions that football is just a game and that losing builds character. I’m not entirely sure I agree with either of those things. I just feel sad. And now the season is over. I’m going to miss football.
Leading in today’s Crimson White:
Murphy, team looking to make new identity in 2013
Alabama basketball team still faces tough road toward NCAA tournament
