The 49ers did not pull off the win on Sunday.
The whole thing was a bit strange. When the 49ers go to the Superbowl, they're supposed to win. When I was a child and knew nothing about football except that I liked the niners, my question every year was "who are the 49ers playing in the Superbowl?" never "are they... or will they win?" After they inevitably won, the city would erupt in chaotic joy and horns beeping and crazies sticking flags out their car windows. My brother would be videotaped with his friends singing the 49er rap with their hats, jeans, and shirts backward because it was the 80's/early 90's and kids did things like that. The girls would make up weird little cheers and force the family to watch during get-togethers through the year as we would wave red pompoms & chant in all truthfulness that we're #1 (or maybe "we are the niners, no one can be finer," which only kinda rhymes) at family functions.
So this is how it feels to be the "other" team. I didn't doubt for a second during the first dreadful half of the game that they would come back... they would come back to win, of course. The food and beverages and hosting we did wouldn't be in vain. We'd then run outside with the rest of the city and watch people be crazier than ourselves and take a lot of pictures and post them on every social media we have later that night, and go through the streams and "like" everything anyone says that agrees... (aka everyone I know & associate myself with). The plan was perfect.
Instead, we had four chances to get into that end zone and we didn't. It was convenient for Baltimore that the refs were rooting for them and allowed some serious holding... (I will be having someone else come and teach my children good sportsmanship, because I'm clearly not a good fit).
A hush came over the crowd at our place, and apart from the guests being required by Sophie to sing Happy Birthday to her imaginary friend Sally, the chatter was kept to a minimum as guests filed out. History was made, but instead of it being a dual championship year with the Giants and Niners, it was our first ever superbowl loss.
I'd like to tell you I was one of the finer higher-road types that took to the computer to say a congratulatory "good game," or something...
...instead I retweeted the brilliant girl who said "they still live in Baltimore. We still live in San Francisco. #winning."
At least we have good leftovers.
XO,
Kate
Ps. More later... something that has to do with "style" and "smallers"... ;)