SF Tennis Freak

What a night!

The San Francisco 49’ers lost a close one to the Baltimore Ravens in tonight’s Super Bowl. No, it only seemed close at the end. In reality, it was a on one-sided embarrassment until the lights went out just after Beyonce’s halftime show. Thirty minutes later, after the Ravens’ momentum had been completely stopped, the Niners finally remembered who they were and what game they had come to play.

By then it was too late. You can’t spot a team 2 quarters and 22 points and expect to win any game, let alone win a Super Bowl.

Colin Kaepernick, the savior of the season after Alex Smith’s injury, showed his inexperience in the biggest game of his life. The first half reminded me of the game in Seattle against the Seahawks, where he looked unprepared for the conditions (fan noise, mostly) he had to face.

Fortunately for us, he was able to apply the lessons learned from Seattle in later games – notably the NFC championship game in Atlanta. But there can be no lessons learned after a Super Bowl… at least not until next season. Colin did his best to play better and lead the team in the second half, but the deficit was way too much to overcome.

Colin wasn’t alone with respect to first half nerves, though. Our top-notch defense looked terrible, missing tackles left and right and putting absolutely no pressure on Raven’s quarterback Joe Flacco. As with Colin, the second half, after the outage, was much better. But again, it was way too late make for the missed opportunities from the first half.

The Super Bowl party I attended with my partner started winding down fairly early, during the power outage. A few of the guys had only come for Beyonce’s performance, but it was more than that. The disappointing first half of the game (and ensuing second half kick return for a touchdown) had really taken the air out of the room. And let’s face it: nobody wants to watch their team get blown out! I’m glad we stayed for the comeback, but it still kinda sucked in the end.

Since then, it’s been really quiet in SF. Apart from those momentary bouts of shouting/giddiness/hope in the fourth quarter, the quiet settled over the city like a wet blanket. I hope it’s gone tomorrow, however, and we can look back on a pretty great and improbable season for the Niners.

No one expected this Super Bowl appearance from their sub-par beginning to the season. And Kaepernick wasn’t even in the picture before Alex’s injury. So really, there’s a lot to be proud of in this team’s accomplishments in getting to New Orleans, including the massive 17-point comeback in the NFC championship game.

Maybe next year they’ll realize that they don’t need to be behind to play their best. Or at least one can only hope!