SPORTS BALL!!!

[Xprimentyl]

This must have been a pretty exciting season for you, though! From second pick in the draft to a team that would have been the toast of the league if the Ravens didn't go super-saiyan... was a pretty big shift. I spent most of my life in Missouri, thus, most of my life was spent being a fan of the Rams and Chiefs... then the Rams ownership did... *that*... and I now hate the Rams, but y'know how it goes.

Moving to Washington last year, I was kinda blown away by how intensely the football culture is integrated into society around here. I live a couple hours out of Seattle, so perhaps that's why, but man... People love their team around here.

Yeah, you could say it?s been ?pretty exciting? seeing as I literally clapped bruises into my palms and thighs and lost my voice about three times in the last month; my girlfriend begs me to watch Niners? games at home because I embarrass her when I watch at sports bars?

I?m a native Ohioan living in Texas since 2010; you don?t? have to tell me about football culture integrated into local society. You can throw a rock in any direction, and it?ll land on a blue Lone Star or an orange Longhorn silhouette. But it?s been easy resisting developing any sort of affection for the local teams because the fans are so damn arrogant when they?re winning and whiney when they?re losing. Then the owner Jerry Jones is the quintessential insufferable Texas magnate, cocky, self-sure, can?t wait to be seen and throw money around, ugh? I don?t need the ?80s 49ers-Cowboys rivalry to hate the Cowboys. I love that they went 8-8 AGAIN despite all that raw talent they have. Jones finally fired Jason Garrett, but I suspect this has been a case of the disease firing the symptom.

My second team would be the Saints. I visited New Orleans for the first time 6 years ago, and I fell in love with the city: the food, the music, the people, the booze; it?s all just one big, friendly party! And like here in Dallas with the Lone Star, you see the Saints? Fleur De Lis everywhere, and the people love their team. Add to that the refuge that was the Super Dome after Hurricane Katrina and recalling the Saints? emotional return to the stadium afterwards and how much joy it brought so many people who had nothing, wow. The city embraced me; the least I can do is cheer for their team? when they?re not playing the Niners.

Cheat Carroll managed to make it to round 2 of the playoffs. That was the only negative thing for Wild Card Week in the playoffs, IMO. It's quite surreal to be making it to week 2 of the post-season and have both the Saints and Patriots out of the running. Niners fan, by the way, so that first round bye? Yeah, that was nice.

Now, just need Green Bay to knock out Seachickens next week, and all will be well.

If it's any consolation, the Hawks are basically just waiting for a time to get knocked out. They're an injured team held together by tape and glue. They're in the perfect bracket to make it a lot further than they should (The Eagles had no business being in the playoffs this year, sadly, and the Packers are very fragile in spite of their record), but I just can't see them making it beyond the NFCCG.

Insofar as the Niners in the playoffs, I?m conflicted. It?s like road rage: yeah, it?d be cathartic to drag a shit driver out of their vehicle and beat them within an inch of their life, but the potential ramifications just aren?t worth it. I want to play the Seahawks again, beat up on them some more and silence any doubts that we can own the NFC West again, but it?s Russell ?Clutch? Wilson and the big games are where he and his squadron of pigeons have hurt us the most, and I?m not stupid. Yeah, I want the Packers to do the dirty work for us.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I?m not generally a fan of Stephen A. Smith and his bully-ish outbursts, but for some reason, cramming them into this debate montage with Skip Bayless made them hilarious. And I just realized Bayless sounds exactly like Michael Scott from The Office.

 

[tippy2k2]

A live look at The Minnesota Vikings

Nice job guys...

 

[balladbird]

Stephen A's schtick can be grating, for sure, but I'd be lying to say I didn't occasionally chuckle at just how purely bombastic his showmanship could be. Hard to say the Cowboys didn't deserve their own personal troll, this year.

Anyway, another week, more playoff goodness, let's see what happened.

Vikings @ 49ers:

The Vikings made a show of keeping it kinda close for a half, but really, I watched this game for 2.5 quarters, and the two teams just had no business being in the same game. By every metric a team can be measured, the 49ers were superior. To the point I actually felt bad for them. XD


Titans @ Ravens:

I actually skipped watching this game, since I had to go to work, and I figured the conclusion was foregone... boy did that turn out to be a mistake!

I've defended the Ravens from a lot of flak they've recieved... I then had to turn around and start pointing out their flaws, once their bandwagon took off, and suddenly everyone was hopping on it. People blaming the loss on Lamar, strictly, are wrong... the ravens should have stopped Henry once or twice. Still, he had a bad game, and overall the team just didn't play like the number 1 seed should.

Thanks for giving us the AFCCG at home, though! Ugh... but now we have to play against the Titans to get to the super bowl... Andy Reid's kryptonite.


Texans @ Chiefs:

I was gonna comment on this game, but it destroyed my heart, and I died. Dead people can't comment on games, even games that were as weird a circus as this one was. Texans fans must be pissed at their coach right about now.



Seahawks @ Packers:


In the middle of watching this one, about 6 minutes out from half ATM. Looking a lot like Vikings and 49ers. Hawks just have no running game to speak of. Their defense is keeping them in the contest, but unless their offense can click, they'll get torn into pieces by inches. I'm thinking this is the packer's game to lose, but the packers have some large flaws that could flare up to give the hawks a free ride to the championship

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

This was a great week for me as a 49ers fan. 49ers advanced to the NFC Championship, with only the Packers between them and the Super Bowl, and the Seahawks lost. Plus, I got to see Pete Carrol flip out at a ref, which is always great fun.

Ravens getting knocked out was a shocker, though. This has been a crazy post-season, with a lot of the early favorites getting knocked out early (Saints and Patriots got taken out last week, and Ravens this week).

 

[balladbird]

This was a great week for me as a 49ers fan. 49ers advanced to the NFC Championship, with only the Packers between them and the Super Bowl, and the Seahawks lost. Plus, I got to see Pete Carrol flip out at a ref, which is always great fun.

Ravens getting knocked out was a shocker, though. This has been a crazy post-season, with a lot of the early favorites getting knocked out early (Saints and Patriots got taken out last week, and Ravens this week).

indeed, to be fair, if they were judged strictly by the level of play, I don't think the Patriots would have been on anyone's favorites list to make the superbowl... people were more afraid of their legacy and reputation than what they were putting on film. Seeing the Vikings completely collapse against the 49ers just made me feel worse for the saints... if they'd taken that game even the slightest bit seriously they could have won, but they looked past their opponent. 49ers have an easy road to the bowl now.

If the superbowl ends up being Chiefs vs 49ers, what a weird feeling that must be for Dee Ford... like "Huh... guess I was goin' to the superbowl this year no matter what!"

 

[Xprimentyl]

A live look at The Minnesota Vikings

Nice job guys...

While I can understand your sentiments, I think a ?dumpster fire? is a bit hyperbolic; wasn?t pretty, but certainly wasn?t a disastrous performance. My hat?s off to you and your Vikings, Tippy2k2; you guys made it rough for a while on Saturday. And not to be condescending, but you DID make it this far, farther that 24 other teams who watched the playoffs from home. That said? LET?S GO FO? NINE!!!!!!!!! NFC Championship, here we come!!!

Stephen A's schtick can be grating, for sure, but I'd be lying to say I didn't occasionally chuckle at just how purely bombastic his showmanship could be. Hard to say the Cowboys didn't deserve their own personal troll, this year.

I?m not a fan of the man?s antics, but when Stephen A. gets on a tear, especially about the Cowboys, that?s some funny stuff, and like you said, what better team to get routinely trolled!?

Anyway, another week, more playoff goodness, let's see what happened.

Vikings @ 49ers:

The Vikings made a show of keeping it kinda close for a half, but really, I watched this game for 2.5 quarters, and the two teams just had no business being in the same game. By every metric a team can be measured, the 49ers were superior. To the point I actually felt bad for them. XD

I only felt bad for them because Kirk Cousins seems like such a nice guy, like TOO nice. I imagine he?s a vegetarian virgin who doesn?t smoke, drink or cuss. During the offseason, he wears cardigans with khakis with white tennis shoes

Titans @ Ravens:

I actually skipped watching this game, since I had to go to work, and I figured the conclusion was foregone... boy did that turn out to be a mistake!

I've defended the Ravens from a lot of flak they've recieved... I then had to turn around and start pointing out their flaws, once their bandwagon took off, and suddenly everyone was hopping on it. People blaming the loss on Lamar, strictly, are wrong... the ravens should have stopped Henry once or twice. Still, he had a bad game, and overall the team just didn't play like the number 1 seed should.

Thanks for giving us the AFCCG at home, though! Ugh... but now we have to play against the Titans to get to the super bowl... Andy Reid's kryptonite.

Yeah, this game has to be the upset of the year. The Ravens were universally regarded as the Super Bowl shoo-in, and it was around the 3rd quarter before I accepted that my eyes weren?t deceiving me. I jokingly picked the Titans at the start of the game citing only that I didn?t want my Niners to play the Ravens in the Super Bowl, and boy howdy, they kicked the Ravens? teeth in. All I can say is good luck, Chiefs; don?t make any sudden moves or look the Titans directly in the eye?

Texans @ Chiefs:

I was gonna comment on this game, but it destroyed my heart, and I died. Dead people can't comment on games, even games that were as weird a circus as this one was. Texans fans must be pissed at their coach right about now.

Lol, how many post-season records to the Chiefs break? I swear, after that Ravens loss, then seeing the Chiefs fall by 24 in the start, the fabric of my world?s reality was coming undone? then Mahomes did what he does. Lesson for the year: if the Chiefs let you get ahead by 3 or more scores, pack your shit, get on the bus and get the hell out of the stadium while you still can.

Seahawks @ Packers:
In the middle of watching this one, about 6 minutes out from half ATM. Looking a lot like Vikings and 49ers. Hawks just have no running game to speak of. Their defense is keeping them in the contest, but unless their offense can click, they'll get torn into pieces by inches. I'm thinking this is the packer's game to lose, but the packers have some large flaws that could flare up to give the hawks a free ride to the championship

The right team won this game, and from a personal perspective, the right team LOST this game. The Seahawks have been the bane of the Niners? existence for far too long, and in the year that we finally explode onto the scene as legit contenders, it figures they?d be right there to haunt us. I?m GLAD they lost; I only regret that the Packers let them leave the stadium alive. That said, Aaron Rogers is no one to trifle with; it might have been a while for them, but he?s no stranger to big stages, and we?re mostly all brand new to this kind of success. Still, I?m pumped watching so many Niners haters and doubters eat crow. We?re a game away from the Super Bowl; there?s nothing left to say. Even if we lose now, we?ll have fallen atop the bodies of 28 other teams, and that?s LEGIT.

 

[Xprimentyl]

2017 World Series Champions the Houston Astros fire their general manage Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch as investigations reveal they used electronic surveillance to steal pitching signals [https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/astros-cheating-scandal-mlbs-penalties-warranted-in-unprecedented-case-but-might-not-be-harsh-enough/] during games and relayed them to batters by tapping signals on a trashcan from the dugout. This scandal was organized by one Alex Cora who left the organization to manage the 2018 World Series Champions the Boston Red Sox who now find themselves under investigation. I?m not a baseball guy by any stretch of the imagination, so I don?t get all the ins and outs, but I love me some sports drama as long as the San Francisco 49ers and Ohio State Buckeyes are far removed from it, and this is crazy.

They can?t fire the whole team, because the propagation of involvement and influence is impossible to determine, so they did the best they could and cut off the head of the snake who at the very least did nothing to stop it. I?m surprised Cora isn?t automatically fired from the Red Sox as well; just because he wasn?t with the team when the scandal broke doesn?t change the fact that he was the mastermind behind it. Maybe they?re leaving him ?under investigation? to see if he took his shenanigans to the Sox? Back-to-back Series championships with a cheater at the helm? Surly it?s just a coincidence?

And my poor buddy, the Patriots fans mentioned in previous posts, is also a Red Sox fan, he just can?t catch a break; all his favorite teams are crooked.

EDIT: 1/15/20 - Welp, that didn?t take long; Alex Cora OUT per the Red Sox and facing severe discipline from the league.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

2017 World Series Champions the Houston Astros fire their general manage Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch as investigations reveal they used electronic surveillance to steal pitching signals [https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/astros-cheating-scandal-mlbs-penalties-warranted-in-unprecedented-case-but-might-not-be-harsh-enough/] during games and relayed them to batters by tapping signals on a trashcan from the dugout. This scandal was organized by one Alex Cora who left the organization to manage the 2018 World Series Champions the Boston Red Sox who now find themselves under investigation. I?m not a baseball guy by any stretch of the imagination, so I don?t get all the ins and outs, but I love me some sports drama as long as the San Francisco 49ers and Ohio State Buckeyes are far removed from it, and this is crazy.

They can?t fire the whole team, because the propagation of involvement and influence is impossible to determine, so they did the best they could and cut off the head of the snake who at the very least did nothing to stop it. I?m surprised Cora isn?t automatically fired from the Red Sox as well; just because he wasn?t with the team when the scandal broke doesn?t change the fact that he was the mastermind behind it. Maybe they?re leaving him ?under investigation? to see if he took his shenanigans to the Sox? Back-to-back Series championships with a cheater at the helm? Surly it?s just a coincidence?

And my poor buddy, the Patriots fans mentioned in previous posts, is also a Red Sox fan, he just can?t catch a break; all his favorite teams are crooked.

EDIT: 1/15/20 - Welp, that didn?t take long; Alex Cora OUT per the Red Sox and facing severe discipline from the league.

I don't say this often, but...Fuck him. He deserves the book getting thrown at him. The only thing that would make this better is if his World Series wins were vacated after the investigation.

 

[Xprimentyl]

2017 World Series Champions the Houston Astros fire their general manage Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch as investigations reveal they used electronic surveillance to steal pitching signals [https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/astros-cheating-scandal-mlbs-penalties-warranted-in-unprecedented-case-but-might-not-be-harsh-enough/] during games and relayed them to batters by tapping signals on a trashcan from the dugout. This scandal was organized by one Alex Cora who left the organization to manage the 2018 World Series Champions the Boston Red Sox who now find themselves under investigation. I?m not a baseball guy by any stretch of the imagination, so I don?t get all the ins and outs, but I love me some sports drama as long as the San Francisco 49ers and Ohio State Buckeyes are far removed from it, and this is crazy.

They can?t fire the whole team, because the propagation of involvement and influence is impossible to determine, so they did the best they could and cut off the head of the snake who at the very least did nothing to stop it. I?m surprised Cora isn?t automatically fired from the Red Sox as well; just because he wasn?t with the team when the scandal broke doesn?t change the fact that he was the mastermind behind it. Maybe they?re leaving him ?under investigation? to see if he took his shenanigans to the Sox? Back-to-back Series championships with a cheater at the helm? Surly it?s just a coincidence?

And my poor buddy, the Patriots fans mentioned in previous posts, is also a Red Sox fan, he just can?t catch a break; all his favorite teams are crooked.

EDIT: 1/15/20 - Welp, that didn?t take long; Alex Cora OUT per the Red Sox and facing severe discipline from the league.

I don't say this often, but...Fuck him. He deserves the book getting thrown at him. The only thing that would make this better is if his World Series wins were vacated after the investigation.

Knee-jerk? I?d agree with stripping the Series win; I think most fans of a sport want to see cheaters? feet held not only to the fire, but to the coals themselves, but after listening to Max Kellerman?s take on things, I understand the case for not stripping titles. He used the analogy of a loose thread in a tapestry; if you tug it, you risk unravelling the whole thing. Between myriad cheating scandals going back over 100 years, steroid use, homerun records, etc., where do you start and where do you stop amending the history books?

Stripping a Series win doesn?t erase the history as it was experienced. It doesn?t make the Dodgers feel any better handing them a posthumous 2017 win. Also, something to consider, knowing which pitch is coming is an advantage, but the skill required to hit the ball is not a skill that can be mitigated by objective cheating, i.e.: if a MLB pitcher pitches a 96mph fastball to me straight across the plate, I doubt I could even hit it let alone knock it far enough to run someone in or get a homerun. Those hits happened. Those games happened. And I had to look it up, but they split the series 4-3, only 3 of those 7 games were played in Houston, and the Astros only won 2 of them, so advantages aside, there was enough genuine talent involved and just little enough advantage employed to lend the overall win at least SOME legitimacy.

I?m not condoning this or any kind of cheating; not saying the firings were too harsh or undeserved or that there shouldn?t be asterisks in the history books, but I DO feel the record should stand.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

2017 World Series Champions the Houston Astros fire their general manage Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch as investigations reveal they used electronic surveillance to steal pitching signals [https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/astros-cheating-scandal-mlbs-penalties-warranted-in-unprecedented-case-but-might-not-be-harsh-enough/] during games and relayed them to batters by tapping signals on a trashcan from the dugout. This scandal was organized by one Alex Cora who left the organization to manage the 2018 World Series Champions the Boston Red Sox who now find themselves under investigation. I?m not a baseball guy by any stretch of the imagination, so I don?t get all the ins and outs, but I love me some sports drama as long as the San Francisco 49ers and Ohio State Buckeyes are far removed from it, and this is crazy.

They can?t fire the whole team, because the propagation of involvement and influence is impossible to determine, so they did the best they could and cut off the head of the snake who at the very least did nothing to stop it. I?m surprised Cora isn?t automatically fired from the Red Sox as well; just because he wasn?t with the team when the scandal broke doesn?t change the fact that he was the mastermind behind it. Maybe they?re leaving him ?under investigation? to see if he took his shenanigans to the Sox? Back-to-back Series championships with a cheater at the helm? Surly it?s just a coincidence?

And my poor buddy, the Patriots fans mentioned in previous posts, is also a Red Sox fan, he just can?t catch a break; all his favorite teams are crooked.

EDIT: 1/15/20 - Welp, that didn?t take long; Alex Cora OUT per the Red Sox and facing severe discipline from the league.

I don't say this often, but...Fuck him. He deserves the book getting thrown at him. The only thing that would make this better is if his World Series wins were vacated after the investigation.

Knee-jerk? I?d agree with stripping the Series win; I think most fans of a sport want to see cheaters? feet held not only to the fire, but to the coals themselves, but after listening to Max Kellerman?s take on things, I understand the case for not stripping titles. He used the analogy of a loose thread in a tapestry; if you tug it, you risk unravelling the whole thing. Between myriad cheating scandals going back over 100 years, steroid use, homerun records, etc., where do you start and where do you stop amending the history books?

Stripping a Series win doesn?t erase the history as it was experienced. It doesn?t make the Dodgers feel any better handing them a posthumous 2017 win. Also, something to consider, knowing which pitch is coming is an advantage, but the skill required to hit the ball is not a skill that can be mitigated by objective cheating, i.e.: if a MLB pitcher pitches a 96mph fastball to me straight across the plate, I doubt I could even hit it let alone knock it far enough to run someone in or get a homerun. Those hits happened. Those games happened. And I had to look it up, but they split the series 4-3, only 3 of those 7 games were played in Houston, and the Astros only won 2 of them, so advantages aside, there was enough genuine talent involved and just little enough advantage employed to lend the overall win at least SOME legitimacy.

I?m not condoning this or any kind of cheating; not saying the firings were too harsh or undeserved or that there shouldn?t be asterisks in the history books, but I DO feel the record should stand.

Yeah, I meant stripping the Series win from Alex Cora's transcript or record. The wins themselves should stand for the teams, for the reasons you stated.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Snip

I don't say this often, but...Fuck him. He deserves the book getting thrown at him. The only thing that would make this better is if his World Series wins were vacated after the investigation.

Knee-jerk? I?d agree with stripping the Series win; I think most fans of a sport want to see cheaters? feet held not only to the fire, but to the coals themselves, but after listening to Max Kellerman?s take on things, I understand the case for not stripping titles. He used the analogy of a loose thread in a tapestry; if you tug it, you risk unravelling the whole thing. Between myriad cheating scandals going back over 100 years, steroid use, homerun records, etc., where do you start and where do you stop amending the history books?

Stripping a Series win doesn?t erase the history as it was experienced. It doesn?t make the Dodgers feel any better handing them a posthumous 2017 win. Also, something to consider, knowing which pitch is coming is an advantage, but the skill required to hit the ball is not a skill that can be mitigated by objective cheating, i.e.: if a MLB pitcher pitches a 96mph fastball to me straight across the plate, I doubt I could even hit it let alone knock it far enough to run someone in or get a homerun. Those hits happened. Those games happened. And I had to look it up, but they split the series 4-3, only 3 of those 7 games were played in Houston, and the Astros only won 2 of them, so advantages aside, there was enough genuine talent involved and just little enough advantage employed to lend the overall win at least SOME legitimacy.

I?m not condoning this or any kind of cheating; not saying the firings were too harsh or undeserved or that there shouldn?t be asterisks in the history books, but I DO feel the record should stand.

Yeah, I meant stripping the Series win from Alex Cora's transcript or record. The wins themselves should stand for the teams, for the reasons you stated.

Bah, let them keep it on their records (with asterisks.) The sheer stigma surrounding their names now is the kind of punishment that cuts deeply and doesn?t need to be reflected in the records. Their careers are over. DONE.

And listening just now to Kellerman suggest how the players should be also punished. As difficult as it is to pin down how many of them were complicit and how many gained from the cheating, the precedent set here is that they, as a team, are untouchable; if everyone?s doing it, none of us are guilty; management will take the bullet. H suggested making the team forfeit 50 games next year. Ouch. Making them forfeit over a third of their season would certainly discourage concerted cheating; I think it?s a great idea.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I wanted to talk Antonio Brown, but that human plane crash is too depressing, Odell is a much lighter subject!

Odell Beckham Jr. (hereafter ?OBJ?) plays for one of the worst teams in the NFL, is one the greatest talents in the league, and during his offseason (maybe next year, Browns, maybe next year?) managed to make two headlines in another football league in a single night. This guy has been one of my favorite players to watch ever since he threw that hissy fit and took a kicker?s net to the face. He encompasses, to a comical extent, everything outsiders looking in imagine the NFL to be: entitled, whiney caricatures of divas who believe themselves to be untouchable and innocent even when they?re caught with their hands not in the cookie jar, but with their hands holding the gun pointed at the cookie delivery truck driver?s head.

Following LSU?s (OBJ?s alma mater) decisive victory over Clemson in the National Championship game, OBJ, on camera, handed the LSU players wads of cash. It was speculated that OBJ handed them fake money to fly in the face of the NCAA policies that prevent the players from benefiting from their own performances in the multi-BILLION dollar college football industry, but it was confirmed by LSU?s Heisman-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, 19th year, 35-year-old senior (hyperbole) who?s headed to the NFL draft and no longer worried about college eligibility, that the cash was real?Ok, OBJ, what in every fuck, dude? Handing out cash is cool; handing out cash in front of millions of people to kids who are not allowed to take it and could face steep penalties for doing so just so you can put your smug mug on TV again (since you team?s an eon away from a post-season berth) is NOT cool. Burrow, happy for you and your success, but way to throw your homeboys under the bus. You?re going off to an NFL contract (for a shit team, granted,) and leaving your younger teammates behind to face potential suspensions and hits to their own draft stock because you couldn?t simply ?no comment.?

THEN?

OBJ, in LSU?s locker room after the game, slaps a security guard on the ass causing the issuance of an arrest warrant for simple battery. Yep, that?s a thing that happened. A security guard trying to get LSU players to extinguish their celebratory cigars got his ass patted (in a locker room? Of all places?? My word!!) by an inebriated NFL superstar and pressed charges. What?s even more hilarious is that the initial charge was ?misdemeanor sexual assault?, but was downgraded to ?simple battery? because there was clearly no evidence of the worse charge. This time, I?m with you, OBJ. You don?t have to go far to find an NFL player doing something illicit, but a playful ass pat on another man in a testosterone-filled locker room after a National Championship win is not news or noteworthy, least of all is it any kind of battery. Mr. security guard person, you should be ashamed of yourself. You are a buzzkill personified. You are THE cooler. Way to exercise your own authority; got your ass patted in a locker room and it?s ?misdemeanor sexual assault???? The right thing to do would have been to pull OBJ to the side, make your discomfort known, and extort him for millions under the table, but noooOOOOooo, you go crying to the real cops, make a fool of yourself, and a million dollar athlete gets to likely walk away with a mere $1,000 fine. That dude had $1,000 in cash on him then and there if you wanted to be this petty.

That said, Cleveland Browns, you should pick up Antonio Brown. Just do it. If you?re not going to contend for the Championship, you can at LEAST make your team the greatest reality television show on earth.

 

[balladbird]

I work nights, and stupidly thought I could get some sleep this morning... of course I couldn't! Of course not!

For the first time in my lifetime, my team is going to the superbowl. I'm legitimately emotional about it, even though I did nothing to accomplish it... I think I finally get what being a sports fan is about!

They kept trying to screw it up! Kept trying so hard. Forgetting how to catch passes, how to return punts... apparently being completely blindsided by the fact that a team down by 3 scores would attempt a fake punt on 4th down in the 4th quarter... but Mahomes wouldn't let us. That kid picked the entire team up on his shoulders and dragged it, kicking and screaming, to Miami.

I almost don't even care about who wins the superbowl itself anymore... this is amazing. I can't even, guys.

Also, sorry Prime, I didn't see you'd responded to me earlier! When did the escapist stop sending IMs when we're quoted?

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Superbowl LIV is 49ers vs Chiefs. Honestly, as a 49ers fan, I won't be upset no matter how that game turns out. It's going to be great.

 

[balladbird]

Superbowl LIV is 49ers vs Chiefs. Honestly, as a 49ers fan, I won't be upset no matter how that game turns out. It's going to be great.

Same, honestly. If the chiefs had lost todays game I would have been pretty devestated... if only because it would be *another* definitive loss to a titans team that shouldn't pose a threat in the post season... but I'm weirdly tranquil now. Obviously I'd rather my team win, but I'm in full "I didn't even think I'd make it this far" mode, right now.

The Chiefs have literally never made it here in my entire lifetime. My grandma, who got me into the Chiefs fandom as a child, has only seen it happen slightly more often. It's gonna take some getting used to. XD

Seriously though, the O/U on this game could well be 80.

 

[tippy2k2]

Except for the Game that Shall not be Named, this has been an absolute treat of a playoff race. Every game has been at least good with some being holy shit great.

Taking away the emotions, this is probably the best Superbowl matchup we could have. Both of these teams look damn near unbeatable for very different reasons but very few I think could or would argue that they are not THE best of the AFC and NFC.

Now we get to see The Unstoppable Force versus The Immovable Object. It's that Head and Shoulders commercial come to life!

 

[Xprimentyl]

My Niners are in the fucking SUPER BOWL!!!

In the late ?90s early 2000s, any Niners? playoff runs were nigh invariably ended by the Packers and the legendary QB Brett Favre, so needless to say, I?m gun shy when I face the cheeseheads in big games. Week 12 against them was a decisive, one-side ass whooping; we beat them 37-8, and as I saw them walk into the playoffs with us, I got those familiar cold sweats. Ask anyone; Aaron Rodgers is one of very few quarterbacks, past and present, that you can bank on to carry a team in big games, and him having supposedly learned from our Week 12 match up, I expected to have our hands full last night. We did? FULL OF CANS OF ASS WHOOPING! We hung ANOTHER 37 points on them, and their only answer was a mere 20.

Except for the Game that Shall not be Named, this has been an absolute treat of a playoff race. Every game has been at least good with some being holy shit great.

Taking away the emotions, this is probably the best Superbowl matchup we could have. Both of these teams look damn near unbeatable for very different reasons but very few I think could or would argue that they are not THE best of the AFC and NFC.

Now we get to see The Unstoppable Force versus The Immovable Object. It's that Head and Shoulders commercial come to life!

?The Unstoppable Force versus The Immovable Object? indeed; couldn?t have said it better. This game is going to one for the ages, and the stories: KC hasn?t been here in 50 years, and they?ve gotten here with an amazing QB that has changed the game; the 49ers were a 4-12laughing stock this time last year, and out of nowhere, they stunned the league becoming the team to beat that few can; we lost 3 games by a total of 13 points and each in the final seconds! Man, this has been a helluva ride.

 

[Xprimentyl]

As the 2019 NFL season winds to its ultimate close here in a couple weeks, the number of football stories has naturally reduced to basically one: Super Bowl predictions. As a Niners fan, I?m just excited to have come this far, and obviously I want to win it all, but I?ve not walked into a single game this season assuming we were going to run away with it, and this one is going to be our biggest test yet. We?re ready, but it?s not going to be easy either way it goes.

What I?m NOT liking as a Niners fan is how many of the pundits are choosing the Chiefs de facto. I can?t turn on the radio or flip through YouTube without hearing/seeing something to the effect that Mahomes is a god amongst men that the Niners will have conjure some way to stop and Jimmy GQ is going to have to pass the ball if we want any chance of winning. Really?

First of all, the run-heavy Packers game we JUST played is NOT our entire identity; I don?t know why the analysts have somehow taken that single game and labelled us. The run was working and the Packers couldn?t stop it? so why would WE stop it? Jimmy G has a +100 passer rating; he won a fucking shootout with the league?s statistically best QB in Drew Brees, with +300 yds; He threw for +400 yds against the Cardinals; he CAN throw the ball, so don?t discount his significant contribution to the team?s accomplishments because our most recent opponent didn?t require him to empty his arsenal to beat. I know they?re not in the hunt anymore, but the bigger, more concerning question is how the Packers, a consistently competitive team with a veteran Hall of Fame QB, lost by 17 in an NFC championship game to a team that only threw the ball 8 times?

Also, taking nothing from Mahomes; he?s an amazing QB and well deserves to be in the big game, but you know what? The Niners are the #1 passing defense. Not saying it?s going to be easy, not saying we?re going to shut him down, but damnit, it?s not going to be easy for Mahomes either, and all that no-look, across the body, 40-yard down field, razzle-dazzle stuff is going to be a lot harder to do when he?ll have the likes of our D-line creating pressure the likes of which he?s not faced yet. Just saying: we got here, too, and we finished the regular season with a better record against a tougher schedule and our quarterback is sexier; don?t write us off just because you slept on us all year while you watched the ?Patrick Mahomes? Show.?

 

[balladbird]

What I?m NOT liking as a Niners fan is how many of the pundits are choosing the Chiefs de facto. I can?t turn on the radio or flip through YouTube without hearing/seeing something to the effect that Mahomes is a god amongst men that the Niners will have conjure some way to stop and Jimmy GQ is going to have to pass the ball if we want any chance of winning. Really?

Are they? Admittedly, I don't follow many of the talking heads... I find their endless cycle of picking a side--> being smug about their pick---> Lording how smart they are over everyone if they get it right ---> trying to spin it so it sounds like they were totally right all along if they pick wrong... to be very exhausting. The few I've seen covering the superbowl matchup seem to be fairly split down the middle, though. Most are high on Mahomes specifically, yes... though a few are still trying to argue he's a product of his system, which is tiresome

The chiefs have a high ceiling, but I feel like no reasonable person would be able to argue against the 49ers being a more complete team. The chiefs are also prone to starting slow and sloppy, which they then lean on Mahomes' talent to bail them out of. Mahomes is good, but he can't carry the entire team forever. Vegas favors the chiefs by one point, but that comes from the Vegas algorithm, which gives an advantage to the hosting team, even when a game is at a neutral site (the AFC is technically 'hosting' the bowl this year). Remove that, and even Vegas calls the game a coin flip.

With regard to those two points specifically, though.

"Needing to conjure up a way to stop mahomes"- Mahomes is no god, but it's true that the Niners are going to have to plan specifically to Mahomes strengths if they want to contain him. They have a HUGE advantage over the Titans in this regard- their front 7 is strong enough that they can rush 4 and still pressure the quarterback effectively, but they'll still have to resolve the same issue every team that plays the Chiefs faces: Play zone and you have to gamble on your pass rush getting home before the recievers can find a seam. Play man and you have to either leave a CB one-on-one against Hill, Leave a DB one-on-one against Kelce, or double both and leave open field for Mahomes to make a rush.

Now, are the Niners incapable of pulling this off? Hell no. They have the talent both on the field and in the coaching tree to scheme effectively against Mahomes, but it *is* still something they're going to have to plan for specifically. The only QB who consistently gave the 49ers line trouble this year was Russell Wilson, and Mahomes is basically Wilson if he was younger and had a more reliable arm.


"Jimmy G will need to throw the ball"- I can only guess based on context, but I presume they're referring to the achilles heel of run-first offenses... running drives eat more clock than passing drives, so if you have to play from behind, you run the risk of timing yourself out if you don't start throwing down the field. The assumption is that if they let the Chiefs take the lead in the second half, they'll have to air it out.

That is... I mean, technically it's correct, but I don't know how applicable it is to this matchup. Even if my Chiefs manage to avoid their usual tradition of playing like ass for a quarter before catching fire, I imagine this would be a shootout where the score never seperated by more than one possession. In a situation like that, the Niners wouldn't have any reason to change their usual offensive MO.