The Big Game, v.54

[Dolfan in NYC 14,942]

Saturday, February 2, 6:30pm ET

San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs (-1½, o/u 53½)

Lots to talk about, this should be fantastic. 

Plus Garrapolo making the Super Bowl will make Bill Belichick furious all over again. So, win-win. 

[Death From Above 4,315]

Garrapolo vs Mahomes is a real tough one, I need to think about it before picking a clear and obvious favourite.

[odessasteps 12,679]

It took me almost a whole day to see my first article condemning the Chiefs name and iconography. 

Shockingly, it was not by Aunt Bea Christine Brennan. Or Big Sexy. 

Edited January 21 by odessasteps

[Ryan 5,590]

They're the Midwest DC Football Club in some ways. HOT TAKE.

[Dolfan in NYC 14,942]

One very cool story coming out from the Niners side is that of Katie Sowers.

She is the first female or openly gay person to coach in a Super Bowl. 

[J.T. 10,008]

The Chiefs are playing my ex-wife's favorite football team.

GO CHIEFS~!!!!!!!

But something deep inside my dark soul smiles at the thought of Bill Belichick trapped in a prison of sadness.

Maybe I want the 49ers to win this shit after all?

Edited January 22 by J.T.

[Lawful Metal 1,462]

I have always been a 49ers fan. 

[Bigbosseli 73]

We just had sports books open here in western NY, I might bet my (future) farm on KC -1.5, and be closer to an actual farm. Vegas is sharp, but I think that is ridiculous.  O/U 54? I'm not sure...

[Dolfan in NYC 14,942]

 

 

I swear, he'd better be the one to flip the coin.. 

[odessasteps 12,679]

1 hour ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

 

 

I swear, he'd better be the one to flip the coin.. 

Instead, it will be Steve Deberg.

[supremebve 5,165]

1 hour ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

 

 

I swear, he'd better be the one to flip the coin.. 

Do kids appreciate Joe Montana?  He was pretty much the consensus G.O.A.T. when I was a kid, but I can't remember the last time I saw him on television.  

[RonL21 540]

I remember when Alex Smith got traded to the Chiefs, it felt good that they wanted our old QBs again. I think it’s 4 or 5 total

[Brian Fowler 14,413]

14 hours ago, supremebve said:

Do kids appreciate Joe Montana?  He was pretty much the consensus G.O.A.T. when I was a kid, but I can't remember the last time I saw him on television.  

It's interesting. Now I've been thinking about this.

Like, in the NBA, everyone looks backwards. MJ is still the consensus GOAT, and you'll find quite a few people arguing Wilt or Kareem or whoever. Hockey it's mostly still Gretzky. But football I think the consensus has pretty much fully shifted to Manning vs Brady for GOAT, and increasingly towards just Brady.

[Niners Fan in CT 14,015]

The game is too different now to compare. 

[Ryan 5,590]

20 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

 

 

I swear, he'd better be the one to flip the coin.. 

Notre Dame is going to win the Super Bowl?

[supremebve 5,165]

5 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

It's interesting. Now I've been thinking about this.

Like, in the NBA, everyone looks backwards. MJ is still the consensus GOAT, and you'll find quite a few people arguing Wilt or Kareem or whoever. Hockey it's mostly still Gretzky. But football I think the consensus has pretty much fully shifted to Manning vs Brady for GOAT, and increasingly towards just Brady.

I guess, but he doesn't even feel like Magic Johnson or even Charles Barkley.  

[EdA 252]

36 minutes ago, supremebve said:

I guess, but he doesn't even feel like Magic Johnson or even Charles Barkley.  

Yeah.  Montana has sort of been erased from the NFL GOAT QB script.  But that kinda is the NFL's main MO - celebrate the present.  

Even in their big 100 year self-congratulation stuff, the NFL basically has been relegating the old timers as ghosts, almost as if they were/are fictional. 

I'm not really making a value judgement on that.  Baseball is the worst about hanging on to history and they are pretty terrible in celebrating the current players.  The NBA is sort of in between that. 

The NFL just seems to be indifferent to the past except for when they want.  It's really obvious with Peyton in how he suddenly dropped out of the GOAT equation once he retired.  Or the fact that Jim Brown may as well have not existed.

[RIPPA 31,446]

To go with supreme's point

Thinking about this - the QB people bitched the most about being on the all century team was Johnny Unitas

As someone in their mid-40s - to think that we have reached the point where an entire generation is "fucking old guy" for Unitas is unbelievable.

To go along with what Ed is saying - the big issue is that the NFL doesn't want to openly acknowledge that the football of today is entirely different animal and that the old people who would be successful in this era (with the advances in technology, medicine and the rules changes) you probably could count on one hand

[supremebve 5,165]

5 minutes ago, EdA said:

Yeah.  Montana has sort of been erased from the NFL GOAT QB script.  But that kinda is the NFL's main MO - celebrate the present.  

Even in their big 100 year self-congratulation stuff, the NFL basically has been relegating the old timers as ghosts, almost as if they were/are fictional. 

I'm not really making a value judgement on that.  Baseball is the worst about hanging on to history and they are pretty terrible in celebrating the current players.  The NBA is sort of in between that. 

The NFL just seems to be indifferent to the past except for when they want.  It's really obvious with Peyton in how he suddenly dropped out of the GOAT equation once he retired.  Or the fact that Jim Brown may as well have not existed.

I don't know, I think plenty of people still bring up Jim Brown.  It could be me, because I'm a Browns fan and grew up with a grandfather who told me early and often that Jim Brown was the best football player of all time.  I think Jim Brown and Jerry Rice are the two players who still get brought up among current players as all-time greats.  Larry Fitzgerald is close to reaching Jerry Rices receptions record, if he plays another 2 or 3 years he can get there.  He'd have to play at least 5 if not 6 to catch him in yards and he'd have to play another decade or more to catch that many touchdowns.  Jerry Rice is still the best wide receiver we've ever seen, and I honestly don't know what would have to happen for anyone to catch him in yards or touchdowns.

Johnny Unitas was brought up a lot when I was a kid, but my after school routine featured lots of NFL Films.  His teammate Lenny Moore may very well be the most underrated player of all-time.  He was a running back/receiver who was a touchdown machine.  He was only getting about 12-15 touches a game, but ended up with 113 total touchdowns which was 2nd all-time when he retired.  

[Infinit 2,146]

23 hours ago, odessasteps said:

Instead, it will be Steve Deberg.

Or Elvis Grbac

[supremebve 5,165]

3 minutes ago, Infinit said:

Or Elvis Grbac

In the long line of quarterbacks we assume are good because they backed up a better quarterback, Jimmy G might just become the best of all time*.  He is the evolution of the Steve DeBerg/Elvis Grbac prototype quarterback.

*Steve Young was too good for this to apply to him.

[gatling 340]

Don't forget about Steve Bono!

[odessasteps 12,679]

I wonder how much the league burying its past has to do with seeing how crippled players and up or anything related to concussions, CTE and suicides. 

[FluffSnackwell 766]

 

Edited January 23 by FluffSnackwell

[EdA 252]

2 hours ago, odessasteps said:

I wonder how much the league burying its past has to do with seeing how crippled players and up or anything related to concussions, CTE and suicides. 

Pretty sure that and the short lifespans are a HUGE part of why the NFL plays indifferent to its history.  Also, it's really tough for the NFL to be trotting out footage of Ronnie Lott killing people over the middle with all the changes to tackling rules.