Farewell Sochi.Ru 2014

The Olympics have finally ended, after two and a half weeks of distress, agony, happiness, laughter and all of the above. The Sochi Olympics will be remembered as the one with high political tensions and the blown out fifth ring. But that is just the cover; Sochi included over a dozen new events for which the Olympics started early, the most storied being Slopestyle. There was drama to say the least in the women's figure skating to say the least, drama that might not be resolved even when we travel to Pyeongchang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Sochi also included a tie for gold medal in downhill skiing down to the very hundredth of a second and in hockey featured two US and Canada matchups, both of which were games to remember for centuries to come. As a wrap, this goodbye to Sochi will be a tough one as all the athletes head back to their normal lives in the United States and abroad. Thank you Sochi for a Winter Olympic game that we won't forget. Olympics, we will see you in Rio two years from now.

Say hello to America's Pastime 2014

Just two days remain until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, and let me tell you, it really couldn't come any sooner. For the San Francisco Giants, the season started at FanFest. I personally got there around 2:30 and was lucky enough to meet some great new people and take some interviews and just share the experience of being a die hard Giants fan. February 1st was the first day that AT&T park brought out over 60,000 die hard fans and it was only the first of many times this year the stadium will be packed. As players wrap up their last few days in their offseason so do the fans. Many fans are ready to travel down to Scottsdale, Arizona with the team to experience the 1.5 month phenomenon which is spring training. The season officially begins on March 31st, but until then rookies and veterans alike will fight it out for their spot on a big league roster. Folks, be on the lookout because this season will be full of surprises from all corners of the league and it is an even year after all, so Giants fans: TOGETHER AGAIN!!!

NFL Chapter 48

A little more than 2 days removed from the blowout America witnessed in the 48th annual Super Bowl, many people have started to look forward to next season, except the Seahawks. The champions will host their championship parade tomorrow, Wednesday afternoon. The Seahawks finally landed back in their hometown after a prolonged championship stay in New York. The 'Hawks victory parade sold in out in minutes and extra viewing space for the parade and on field proceedings was immediately made available next door at the Mariners home in Safeco Field. All in all, the Super Bowl, a second Thanksgiving in terms of food consumption, was a disappointment for almost all Americans from the get go. Those who hoped for a good game left their TV just for the ads. Many others had high hopes of a historic Denver comeback, but these hopes died at the start of the third quarter. Many could argue that it was a one game thing for Peyton Manning and that the Broncos are really the better team, but truth of the matter is that Seattle won the Super bowl. Others knew that the NFC championship was the real Super Bowl, saying that whoever won the NFC would win the Super Bowl. Even though this did turn out to be true and also true that the NFC Championship game was more interesting, it is wrong to count the AFC out of any talks for the title. On that note, even though I am a dire opponent of anything Seahawks, congratulations to the city of Seattle, the 12th man, and the Seahawks organization for a well earned first Lombardi trophy!

Another Bittersweet End

It wasn't the January of 2012 or 2013; it was the January of 2014, but it really didn't matter Sunday evening as it all seemed the same to most 49ers fans. The niners season came to a crashing, bittersweet end for the third time in three years, short of a Super Bowl title. Even though the niners were outsed in 2012 by the Giants in the NFC Championship, and missed winning the 2013 Super Bowl by a couple inches, they weren't able to make it back to the big game as Colin Kaepernick's passed was deflected by Richard Sherman into the hands of Malcolm Smith to seal the deal for the Seattle Seahawks. This is the second NFC title for the fairly new Seahawks franchise, with their last one coming in 2005 in which they lost in the Super Bowl. Although it was a very close game throughout, there were some major turning points, 3 in my opinion to be exact. The very first one being in the fourth quarter when Russell Wilson took advantage of the free play given to him of a 49er false start, tossing it into the hands of Jermaine Kearse for a 35 yard touchdown pass. This play, on a fourth down, gave Seattle its first lead of the game, a major momentum swinger in the favor of the Seahawks. the second major turning point is the fumble (grabaway) recovery by NaVorro Bowman who then ended up losing control of the ball seconds later due to the pain shot up his left leg. None of the refs ever saw Bowman with the football and called it an unreviewable play and major Seahawks possession revival. Even worse and more important, Bowman tore his MCL and ACL and is optimistic to be back for the start of the 2014-2015 NFL season. If the niners got the ball it would've been a three point game in which only a field goal would've been necessary to tie the game. And obviously, the third turning point, the most important play of the game that sealed the NFC championship for the Seahawks, a tip off the hands of Richard Sherman right into Malcolm Smith's hands. There was a huge battle of words and fists between Michael Crabtree and Richard Sherman but let's save that for another blog post. As dawns another long offseason for the niners and their fans, almost everybody in the faithful nation has positive expectations for this young team who can only get better under Coach Harbaugh and a brand new football era at the state of the art Levi's Stadium!    

One more step closer

There was was pushing and shoving, there was some exchange of bad language, and there was definitely no love lost between the two teams that took the field Sunday afternoon at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. This game had been a topic of discussion since the moment the 49ers defeated the Packers in Green Bay last weekend. Both Carolinas and all of Northern California had been waiting a full week for what was expected to be a very defensive orientated game with the top two defenses in the League facing off against each other. For the San Francisco 49ers it was another road game, their 3rd in 3 weeks. But you know how it goes, nothing changed and as they had the past 7 weeks, they took care of business once again, punching their ticket to the home of the feared "12th man" at Century Link Field in Seattle. Almost every play in the game ended with a push, shove, bad word, or penalty. It definitely turned out to be a physical game just as many expected it to be but the 49ers were able to pull away relatively early in the 4th quarter. This came as a huge disappointment to Carolina fans who were poised to make a deep playoff run from a season which included an 8 game winning streak along with a number two seed in the playoffs. Oh well, better luck next year Cam. As for the niners, we are headed to Seattle, THE BIRD'S NEST.  

Tossout in the Tundra

Temperatures flirted with record lows for a football game of this significance as the mercury dropped to -2 degrees Fahrenheit during the Wild card round match-up between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. Many players on both teams who seldom wear sleeves decided to cover up for the big game in the so-called "Frozen Tundra". Many people believed that Niners QB Colin Kaepernick would freeze up in the ice cold temperatures, but when the last seconds ticked of the clock, Colin bettered his record to 3-0 against the Packers. All in all, another thrilling 49er victory that, just as the weekend before, ended in a game winning Phil Dawson field goal. Both running backs, Eddie Lacy and Frank Gore, looked nearly invincible for the better part of the day but in the end it was the niners who ran away with the victory and escaped the cold weather with their ticket punched to their divisional round matchup in Carolina.  

A Formidable Farewell to the Stick

Now a week removed from the historic Monday night on the outskirts of San Francisco, niners fans can now reflect on the significance of one Candlestick Park and the end of a legacy in the San Francisco Bay Area. To say the least, Candlestick Park had a very fitting send off with multiple pregame ceremonies, two card stunts during the game, postgame hall of famer talks, and a spectacular fireworks show. Emotions ran high throughout the whole game and many players were in tears before and after the game. All in all the niners did an amazing job honoring what has been an amazing 5 decades at Candlestick Park. 69,500 faithful fans packed the building one last time to say goodbye and close the last chapter of a long standing building. As one of the 69,500 in attendance I can say that Candlestick Park on Monday, December 23rd is the loudest I have ever heard any professional stadium. And although there is a slim chance that there might be a home playoff game, the stick was awarded its well deserved goodbye. From all niners fans, Thank you Candlestick Park for all the endless memories and for providing us with a home for San Francisco 49ers football.