It's supposed to pour down rain on Sunday...on and off, but the field could be a swamp, advantage, SF, right?
Ted Robinson, voice of the 49ers, tells me, at worst, it neutralizes the NY Football Giants:
"I think it negates speed, especially, Cruz, (Giants receiver, Victor)." The Niners' wideouts don't have alarming quickness, (but that hasn't stopped them yet, right?)
Whatever the case, the long-awaited deluge comes at the worst possible time if you're a football fan and have to navigate Candlestick Park in rain. Brings back memories of the sod squad.
Mike Pechner, acute precipitation expert, predicts wet and windy conditions, book him, Dano!
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Yes, many of the grest Niner games from the 1980s and 90s were played either after the rains or even during them;
ReplyDeletethe 1981 NFC Title win vs Dallas (better known as 'the Catch Game') played a few days after one of the host horric rainstorms in bay area history.
the 1987 loss to Minnesota in the first round,
better known as the 'Fizzle in the drizzle,' because of the steady light rain that fell throughout the afternoon.
The 1992 NFC Title game which Dallas won in an upset, played several days after another series of major January storms. Turf expert George Toma was brought in to fix the field and he did such a good job that Emmitt Smith and the Cowboys ran
wild and nudged the Niners out of a Superbowl berth for the first of two consecutive years.
The 1994 NFC title game, won by Steve Young and the Niners over Dallas. The south end of the Candlestick Field was a soggy, swamp. Dallas Coach Barry Switzer was outraged, but the Niners used the slow field to their advantage and finally knocked off the Cowboys again after two consecutive losses in the finals.
And finally...most recently, the 1997 NFC finals, which Green Bay and Brett Favre won 23-10 on a wet, cold miserable day.
Rain, cold, and sloppy conditions will probably help SF a bit more than NY, but look how well the Giants played on the home turf of the Packers yesterday in frigid Green Bay.
I don't think that beating the Giants is a fait
accompli. They're the hot team right now, kind of like the SF Giants were in 2010..so watch for another tightly contested game.
But if someone had told you before the 2011 season that the SF 49ers would be hosting the NFC Title game in January of 2012, you would have told them to get in line for the loony bin!
zzzzz
DeleteGwen Knapp had the best nickname for VDavis' catch = The Dagger!
ReplyDeleteVernon DOES need to avoid talking in the 3rd Person though...
Ted Robinson is flat out awful. The guy has the voice of a nerd and pulls for the team like a Mid-West homer. What an embarrassment to an area with a great broadcaster tradition.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, but what about that screeching sound of a poodle being stepped on when Vernon Davis caught the game winner. That was apparently Eric Davis. THAT was an embarrassment.
Delete4:12pm
ReplyDeleteYou have NO clue how bad Starkey was then. Robinson is a pro' pro!
You're right, Starkey always sounded like he was stroking himself in the booth when the 49ers scored. I think Eric Davis must have studied his style.
DeleteThe best 49er announcer was truly Lon Simmons...who broadcast from 1957 through 1980 before KCBS and Don Kline replaced him. Lon then came back with KGO and did two memorable years in 1987-88. He was the best!
ReplyDeleteOne time after a great win he even said: "This game was so good, I almost feel like crying!"
Agreed. Lon was the best 49er announcer, and he also was pretty good at baseball too!
DeleteFitz is the best bay area announcer , period. He knows the game well, has great verbal skills, and works great with JB. You have to give him his due.
ReplyDeletefitz? is that you?
DeleteAre you kidding about Fitz? He is the reason the mute button was invented.
DeleteGive me a break about Fitz! He doesn't do a bad job with his play by play or analysis, but he's such a ridiculous homer, and he is a big drop off in quality from Greg Papa.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason he has the Warriors job is that he and his agent (with the complicity of the Warriors, stabbed Greg Papa in the back.
Fitz will have to live with that for the rest of his life, and that's why is so reviled by his peers in the broadcast community.
Fitz is not even welcome at his Serra reunions...
ReplyDeleteThe only real thing that Fitz knows is his salary cap stuff in almost any sport. Product of going to Touchdown Jesus University.
ReplyDeleteOff Topic, but I can't e-mail this 910am host directly..
ReplyDeleteWill someone please tell Len Tillum to STOP CURSING YOUR CALLERS SO MUCH!! ITS NOT CUTE OR COOL! I listened on wed. jan 18th. Within a 20 minute span he told one caller he did'nt know 'what the hell you're talking about',minutes later, Len advises the listeners to 'get up off their asses and call'. What? I turned the station.
I miss Mike Pechner's no-nonsense, this-is-my-job-don't-blame-me-if-your-house-floats-away forecasts on KCBS, a contrast to the generic, upbeat taped KPIX bits used today...where's Harry Geise when you really need him?
ReplyDeleteThat's Len's schtick! If offended by a few fleeting hells, damns and asses bothers you, I can imagine how you feel when Pat Thurston talks about "Peeing on Taliban soldiers" or the euphamism of "That pisses me off."
ReplyDeleteAt last check, George Carlin's "7 dirty works you can't say on radio" still applies, and "piss" is a relatively new member of the newer fraternity.
Len's fine saying what he says. After all ... he's "a law-yah!"