Chopra - Gift Wrapped
Gift Wrapped
by Vini Chopra 'The Vin'
Everyone knows the days leading up to Christmas, especially when there is that one present that you are just dying to have. You place all kinds of hints all around the house, mention your gift in subtle ways to your parents during dinner conversation, and when you look under the tree and see a proportionate gift wrapped up and waiting you naturally jump cheerfully. Then Christmas morning rolls around. You race down your stairs before anyone else has had a chance to awaken. You get your hands around that gift and you rip it apart. Inch by inch, the gift unwraps and your excitement slowly turns to disappointment. That expensive, dreamy gift has turned into a sweater or some other less stellar present but the size of the giftbox deceived you.
Fortunately, Christmas does not come around for another couple of months, so to those who experience this year after year you have some time to prepare. But this situation is analgous to the 49ers win on Sunday. As a realist, I fully expected the 49ers to lose against the Rams rather horribly.
Full Story...
I expected Marc Bulger to throw for 300+ yards, for the Rams to control the game for a majority of the time, and for the 49ers offense to appear anemic against the Rams. But wait a minute, isn't this what actually happened? Bulger did throw for 362 yards, the Rams held the ball for nearly 40 minutes of the game, and the 49ers offense, aside from a 2nd quarter surge inspired by some trickery, did not score a single TD in the 4th quarter.
The 49ers were able to overcome these imbalances with inspirational play from their tireless defense, hard hitting, and a degree of randomness that threw off the Rams attack (such as the onside kick). For that, coach Mike Nolan and the rest of the 49ers coaching crew get all the credit in the world. They found a way for the only statistic that matters, the score, to end up greater than what the Rams could manage to conjure. But as I strolled into class on Monday morning, and later on in work, I was swarmed by people shouting things like "the 49ers are going all the way," "we're playoff calibre," "our defense is going to be #1 all year." Like the Christmas present I alluded to earlier on, I want this more than anything else. But I have to interject and say hold your horses. A week one win against the Rams was one of the most impressive feats and if we do not win another game this season that is a heck of a win to live with.
That's the thing though. The 49ers are without expectation this year, or if there are any expectations they are surely of that ugly sweater and not the hi-tech entertainment system. That's what made the win against the Rams so memorable and emotional. This was like receiving an outdated laptop for Christmas and finding out it could do something that the more expensive and impressive laptop could do. And again, give Mike Nolan credit for engineering that, but by holding the team against a higher pedestal fans might find disappointment. For example, while the Eagles are coming off of a loss of their own, they provide a much less arrogant challenge than Mike Martz and his inability to call a smart football game. Andy Reid will have the Eagles ready to play, and after last weeks performance it is clear that Mike Nolan will have this young 49er team ready as well. But what happens if the 49ers end up with a loss against Philadelphia next week? Do the same optimists of this week start to attack the structure of the team and challenge the calls, players, and look into the statistics that they deemed inconsequentional just last Sunday?
The 49ers are a team that need to compete this season. Anything can happen on any given Sunday, including a win. The 49ers are the greatest example of this given the odds that they were able to overcome against the Rams. But so far, the 49ers have demonstrated that they are that nice looking, gift-wrapped box. They could turn out to be the ultra spiffy, super duper expensive gift that we all want during Christmas. Or they could be the ugly sweater wrapped up nicely. It's only week one and hopes are high. But come Christmas morning, whether the 49ers are looking ahead to the playoffs or looking towards a long off-season is not as important as whether or not the 49er fans and faithful will return back to Earth, or accept that just by the week one results alone, this season has been a lot more fun than last year ever was. Afterall, the best part of Christmas is getting there.
by Vini Chopra 'The Vin'
Everyone knows the days leading up to Christmas, especially when there is that one present that you are just dying to have. You place all kinds of hints all around the house, mention your gift in subtle ways to your parents during dinner conversation, and when you look under the tree and see a proportionate gift wrapped up and waiting you naturally jump cheerfully. Then Christmas morning rolls around. You race down your stairs before anyone else has had a chance to awaken. You get your hands around that gift and you rip it apart. Inch by inch, the gift unwraps and your excitement slowly turns to disappointment. That expensive, dreamy gift has turned into a sweater or some other less stellar present but the size of the giftbox deceived you.
Fortunately, Christmas does not come around for another couple of months, so to those who experience this year after year you have some time to prepare. But this situation is analgous to the 49ers win on Sunday. As a realist, I fully expected the 49ers to lose against the Rams rather horribly.
Full Story...
I expected Marc Bulger to throw for 300+ yards, for the Rams to control the game for a majority of the time, and for the 49ers offense to appear anemic against the Rams. But wait a minute, isn't this what actually happened? Bulger did throw for 362 yards, the Rams held the ball for nearly 40 minutes of the game, and the 49ers offense, aside from a 2nd quarter surge inspired by some trickery, did not score a single TD in the 4th quarter.
The 49ers were able to overcome these imbalances with inspirational play from their tireless defense, hard hitting, and a degree of randomness that threw off the Rams attack (such as the onside kick). For that, coach Mike Nolan and the rest of the 49ers coaching crew get all the credit in the world. They found a way for the only statistic that matters, the score, to end up greater than what the Rams could manage to conjure. But as I strolled into class on Monday morning, and later on in work, I was swarmed by people shouting things like "the 49ers are going all the way," "we're playoff calibre," "our defense is going to be #1 all year." Like the Christmas present I alluded to earlier on, I want this more than anything else. But I have to interject and say hold your horses. A week one win against the Rams was one of the most impressive feats and if we do not win another game this season that is a heck of a win to live with.
That's the thing though. The 49ers are without expectation this year, or if there are any expectations they are surely of that ugly sweater and not the hi-tech entertainment system. That's what made the win against the Rams so memorable and emotional. This was like receiving an outdated laptop for Christmas and finding out it could do something that the more expensive and impressive laptop could do. And again, give Mike Nolan credit for engineering that, but by holding the team against a higher pedestal fans might find disappointment. For example, while the Eagles are coming off of a loss of their own, they provide a much less arrogant challenge than Mike Martz and his inability to call a smart football game. Andy Reid will have the Eagles ready to play, and after last weeks performance it is clear that Mike Nolan will have this young 49er team ready as well. But what happens if the 49ers end up with a loss against Philadelphia next week? Do the same optimists of this week start to attack the structure of the team and challenge the calls, players, and look into the statistics that they deemed inconsequentional just last Sunday?
The 49ers are a team that need to compete this season. Anything can happen on any given Sunday, including a win. The 49ers are the greatest example of this given the odds that they were able to overcome against the Rams. But so far, the 49ers have demonstrated that they are that nice looking, gift-wrapped box. They could turn out to be the ultra spiffy, super duper expensive gift that we all want during Christmas. Or they could be the ugly sweater wrapped up nicely. It's only week one and hopes are high. But come Christmas morning, whether the 49ers are looking ahead to the playoffs or looking towards a long off-season is not as important as whether or not the 49er fans and faithful will return back to Earth, or accept that just by the week one results alone, this season has been a lot more fun than last year ever was. Afterall, the best part of Christmas is getting there.
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