Given the combination of gruesome events the last 10 days, it's a wonder I can even think about sports without bashing myself in the head with my Chris Paul Hornets bobble-head.
Perhaps I could have stomached a supremely-coached, devastatingly talented and far less complacent Alabama team trouncing my hometown darling LSU Tigers 21-0 in last Monday's BCS National Championship, if only because any team whose offensive game-plan revolves around Jordan Jefferson throwing wounded-duck bubble screens is probably undeserving of a championship, anyway.\nVirginia's loss to Duke at Cameron Indoor hardly helped matters, but at least I could have relished the team's spirited performance which validated its status as arguably the strongest defensive team in the country.
But then "The Grab" happened Saturday. Or as my fellow Saints fans call it, "The Choke."
I hardly need to convince anyone that watching Alex Smith channel his inner-Montana to end my team's season lends new meaning to the word "excruciating."
What may be surprising is that I have already adopted a new favorite team for these NFL playoffs. And it's none other than the San Francisco 49ers - the very team which defeated the Saints 36-32 Saturday.
Granted, many fans root for the team which knocked out their own squad to win a championship, hoping that it makes their team's loss seem less egregious. But I promise that is not what is happening here.
Somewhere in between resenting the Niners for their gladiatorial, borderline dirty brand of play - swarming on top of Pierre Thomas's limp, concussed body after safety Donte Whitner forced the first of five Saints' turnovers didn't exactly endear the San Fran defense to Saints fans - and cursing the Saints for their pathetic ball security and refusal to cover tight end Vernon Davis any better than Ke$ha could cover a Simon and Garfunkel song, I somehow developed a grudging admiration for the scrappy team by the Bay and its even scrappier coach, Jim Harbaugh.
In his first year in San Fran, Harbaugh has propelled the 49ers to the doorstep of football's "promised land" with a recipe for success far different from those of the Patriots, Packers or Saints. As I learned Sunday, the Niners' proficiency is less about adhering to the "old-school" or "grinding it out" and much more about imposing their will to win on their opponents.
Given that Smith dropped back to pass on nearly two-thirds of San Francisco's offensive plays and that the 49ers defensive backs made even the Saints tackling look adequate in the fourth quarter, I can't say that the Niners won by playing "their game." They triumphed because, from Whitner's wince-inducing hit to Smith's go-ahead heave to Davis with nine seconds left, they took the fight to the Saints.
They exhibited no trace of the fear of losing that often dooms inexperienced playoff teams. The very idea of failing seemed to irk the 49ers; they made the former-champion Saints, by comparison, seem tentative and nervous. In a culture of fragile psyches and rampant oversensitivity, you have to respect the 49ers for playing with a brashness which verges on cockiness but never turns into complacency.
The 49ers' rise is especially astounding considering that this is largely the same roster which developed a penchant for underachievement and self-doubt during the last few seasons, while sprinkling in a few veteran cast-offs such as Carlos Rogers - cut to the University's plentiful Redskins fans throwing up in their mouths - and Justin Smith. It's this peculiar makeup of the roster, in fact, which exemplifies the most impressive element of the 49ers' revival: the trust Harbaugh has infused in the organization.
When Harbaugh arrived from Stanford last January, he could have blown up the roster and severed ties with the perennial disappointment Smith. Instead, he did something that flies in the face of the "Yankees" impulse which dominates today's American professional sports climate: he trusted the core of players he inherited. He instilled in them a drive to prove the naysayers wrong, to prove that they already possessed the requisite talent and determination to win a championship.
The players he did add were not championship veterans but guys starving for the playoff limelight and for coaches and teammates who had faith in them to contribute to a title. Ironically, Harbaugh's greatest contribution as the 49ers' "savior" was convincing the players that they didn't need a savior at all: they just needed faith in themselves and each other to become a winning team.
The result? A 13-3 regular season record, a tie for the most Pro Bowlers - including Justin Smith and Rogers - in the league, and the team's first playoff victory since 2003. And though I'd much prefer to be prepping for an NFC Championship in the Superdome this Sunday, I cannot resist hoping that Harbaugh's group of misfits justifies their belief with a Super Bowl title.
Now, slow down, Giants, Patriots and Ravens fans. Your teams are compelling in their own right. The Giants are a far superior offensive team to the fabled 2007 champion Giants and are more than capable of turning the Niners' season into a pumpkin this weekend. If the 49ers survive, either the Patriots or Ravens would be a tough Super Bowl test. However, I felt compelled to give the underplayed saga of this year's Niners its due, and not just as some cathartic attempt to cope with the Saints' loss.
The Niners' rise transcends the sports world by teaching a useful tenet: with through faith in what you have instead of frustration with what you don't, ultimate fulfillment is attainable. Davis captured the essence of this 49ers' squad best in describing his mindset on the game-winning drive: "Us against 'No.' Us against 'Can't.'"
Even though the 49ers will never fully receive my forgiveness for vanquishing one of my favorite all-time Saints teams, it's hard not to hope that they can.
Read More
Boyden and Tufts reunite, chasing titles alongside each other
By Michael Liebermann | 5 hours agoA permanent mutual affection exists between Boyden and his former program.
Virginia faces goalie conundrum heading into Final Four
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayThe situation represents a turnaround for Tiffany’s squad.
Connor Shellenberger, an unforgettable shot, and a wave of unbidden tears
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayAn incredible game-winner triggered a rush of emotion
