Number 10: The City

San Francisco, California. A city with few equals, known for its historic rail cars and the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is a great city for a great football team. The Niners play in a historic park too, Candlestick Park, oops I mean, 3Com Stadium, which has another bonus, the grass field (no crappy Astroturf here baby!). What a perfect fit: a world-renowned city for a world-renowned team!

Number 9: The Logo / Name

Simple, elegant, classy, to the point. The San Francisco 49ers. What a great name! It is not only original, but it is powerful. When I hear that name, I get visions of so many things; in fact, here are the things that just went through my head as I said it to myself:

-The Catch…

-Joe Montana rolling right in his trademark, graceful gallop…

-Jerry Rice making that one handed catch along the right sideline with a defender draped all over him…

-John Taylor covering up the ball with both hands as he slides into the end zone for another score…

-Roger Craig high-stepping…

-Bill Romanowski in a Niner uni… (why? I don’t know)

-Matt Millen…

-Ricky Watters in 94 who prompted fans to display a sign that said “Our Watters run to Pasadena”

-George Seifert’s crazy string around his glasses…

-Steve Young ripping up the Chargers in 94…

-Steve Young chugging for more yardage after he had his helmet ripped off…

-Jeff Garcia’s debut at the helm of the Niners…

There are too many to mention, but I think you get the gist of it. What a great feeling, to have those great memories come flooding through every time I say that name to myself. As I said, this name is also very original, I mean, 49ers? Where did they come up with that? I am trying to think of other teams who have numbers as their team names and there aren’t many, but the Philly 76ers, Ottawa 67’s, the old 96’er (the steak John Candy had to eat in the movie “The Great Outdoors”), do come to mind right away.

Number 8: Bill Walsh

Bill Walsh, the originator of the West Coast Offense and mentor to many of today’s top coaches, will go down in football history as not only one of the greatest coaches of all time, but one of the greatest front office exec’s of all time too. The 49ers are in a rebuilding mode right now, this much is true, but we would not be as far along as we are without Walsh. Bill Walsh’s mastery on draft day will long be remembered by Niner fans, almost as much so, as the storied WCO. And although Walsh has just recently accepted a much lesser role in the front office, handing the reins over to Terry Donahue, he will certainly remain a strong voice in all of the 49ers future transactions as their Vice President/Consultant.

Number 7: The History

“One of the greatest NFL franchises of all-time”, a label which has been bestowed on the 49ers many, many times. Our storied success is without parallel, and I do not think we will ever see a team dominate their division they way the 49ers did in the past. Great players, great teams and great seasons make for some great stories that I will be able to tell to my little SuperZim JR’s for years to come.

Number 6: The Colors

Call them what you want, Crimson and Gold or Red and Gold, the 49ers team colors are the best there is. Easily recognizable, they put forth an image of class, which is something that this franchise has prided itself on for years. The Niners’ colors have struck fear into the hearts of teams for years and will continue to do so for years to come. I am sure I am not the only one who is thankful that the Niners have not decided to change their logo/colors in recent years as we have seen several other teams do, because a Niner team wearing any other color would be a shame. I am so very glad I can wear the jersey of my favorite team and not have to worry that I am wearing Black and Orange or Blue, Light Blue and Lighter Blue, I mean, what kind of colors are those anyway?

Number 5: The Future

Every team has been through it, the “re-building” stage. The Niners were not, and are not immune, so we as Faithfuls have to deal with it these days. I don’t think that there is a team that most other team’s fans wanted to see fail more than the 49ers, I mean, if someone had been whoopin our butts for the last 20 years, I would be hoping for them to fall off that pedestal too. But all is not lost. Our team has taken major strides recently, and it’s these strides that are making the rest of the NFL stand up and take note of this young 49ers team. We have another ProBowl quarterback, and another ProBowl receiver in the mix (things that most teams can only dream of having), and our defense is looking stronger with each passing day. This Niner D can only go up from where it was last year, and that is kind of re-assuring, I guess. But just think of what the future will have in store for us, if our defense starts playing up to the level of an offense that was in the top 5 last year! Rest easy friends, things are on the upswing.

Number 4: 49ers Quarterbacks

Two QB’s come to mind when you think 49ers (although recently some guy named Garcia is sliding in there), and those two names are Joe Montana and Steve Young. We as Niner fans, have been literally spoiled for nearly two decades by the play of our Hall of Fame QB’s, these two players set the bar so high for all future QB’s to put on the beloved Red & Gold, and if any of them can even remotely measure up to these guy’s legacy, we will be in good shape for years.

Joe Montana, first of all, what a great name for a Bay Area QB (sounds much better than Jay Schroeder or Todd Marinovich, doesn’t it?). Joe-Cool was the ultimate clutch playmaker, a QB with unparalleled touch and vision, and he more than made up for his lack of speed and mobility (which is also a topic worth arguing), with his ice-water demeanor in the pocket. I can’t think of any other QB I would want leading my team down the field late in the 4th quarter with the game on the line.

Steve Young, arguably one of the best running QB’s of all-time, and without question Young is the most accurate passer of all-time. Those are not bad compliments for a guy who resided in Joe-Cool’s shadow for a number of years. And what better way to step out of that shadow than to be named league MVP and win the SuperBowl soon after the legend departs? Although Steve Young’s career was undoubtedly ended a season or two early by injury, his legend is intact. I find it difficult to think of many QB’s who are tougher SOB’s than Steve Young, and while toughness is a quality few have, it is also a quality that you cannot let dictate your play. There have been some tough QB’s who have let their toughness get in the way of good judgment on the football field, and Steve Young was not one to do that (well except for that time where he came back into the game after suffering a concussion, saying afterward he could barely see). It will be a great day for 49ers fans when se see both Joe Montana’s (Joe-Cool’s is already there) and Steve Young’s jersey hanging in the Hall of Fame, and let me tell you, that day is not too far off.

Number 3: Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice, arguably the greatest player the NFL has ever seen, has since left the 49ers to play with the Oakland Raiders, but that does not take away what he did for this team while he was here. Consider this, 1281 receptions, 19,247 yards, 176 TD’s and counting, and counting! In a word, amazing. Rice holds almost every significant receiving record out there, and the best part is, he did it all as a 49er. As I said in my previous column (From Red & Gold to Black & Silver, all over a bunch of Green), Jerry has said that he will always be a Niner, no matter where he goes. I look forward to the day that Jerry Rice heads into Canton, Ohio wearing the beloved Red & Gold.

Number 2: The Fans

Niner fans, 49er Faithfuls, call us what you want, but we are among the best fans in all of the NFL. Few teams have such a following as the 49ers do, and in this day and age of constant bandwagon jumping, it is nice to see that the Niners have retained their large fan base. 49ers fans are knowledgeable, classy, respectable and above all, we are true fans of the game. I know many Niner fans who are as knowledgeable about the game as any of those “experts” out there, and that is what makes 49ers fans as great as they are, that and the fact that all of us are still cheering as loud as ever during this, our toughest time. Though many teams have what are referred to as “fair-weather” fans, the Niners have fans in all sorts of weather: sun, rain, sleet, and in my case even snow.

Number 1: The SuperBowls

The 49ers franchise has won 5 SuperBowls, and while some teams are clawing to just get that one elusive championship, the 49ers are by far the greatest of all the multiple winners. The Steelers make a strong case with their dominance in the 70’s as do the Cowboys with theirs in the 90’s, but our run in the 80’s surpasses those two team’s accomplishments. Here is how our wins break down:

1981 – 49ers 26 – Bengals 21

1984 – 49ers 38 – Dolphins 16

1988 – 49ers 20 – Bengals 16 (the greatest SuperBowl game of all time)

1989 – 49ers 55 – Broncos 10

1994 – 49ers 49 – Chargers 26

Those wins total up to 188 points for and 89 points against, in the biggest game of the year! Don’t like that total? How about 37.6 points for and 17.8 against? Or how about a margin of victory of 19.8 points? Any way you slice it, the 49ers are, by far, the greatest SuperBowl team of all time. A team’s true greatness shows when it is faced with a situation where only its best will do, and the Niners have showed that in every SuperBowl game, never coming up short or not giving its best. 5 SuperBowls would make any team’s history great, but what makes the 49ers history the greatest is how we have won those 5 SuperBowls, and how we will win more in the future.

Until next time…