Can Only Smile

I can only smile when I hear San Francisco 49ers fans grumble about having to wait 18 years for a Super Bowl return. I've been around 49ers fans my entire life. It's always fun when they pop up again. 18 years since Steve Young and Jerry Rice carved up the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. I can still see the Super Sunday of Super Bowl XI when the Minnesota Vikings were disposed of by another bay area team, the Oakland Raiders. I've been surrounded by their fans too. It seems that I've always been surrounded by happy football fans. Until the past 18 years. So long. I've been waiting 36 years, and counting, for a Vikings return to the Super Bowl. Oh, those red and gold clad fans have been a happy bunch for most of my football life. The recent, difficult 18 years were preceded by 14 years of dizzying success. Five Super Bowl appearances. 5 Super Bowl wins. The life of a 49ers fan hasn't been a rough football life in my lifetime. In the Super Bowl era only a handful of teams can stand as grand. Of the most successful teams, only the 49ers have left Super Bowl Sunday without a loss. The Vikings have left all four of their appearances with a loss.

I'm not crying. Really, I'm not. I've always been happy for my 49ers fan friends. They've been blessed with incredible teams. Some of the best that the football world has ever seen. Incredible coaches. Incredible football players. Losing is part of the journey. Part of the life of being a fan. It's always been my hope that the longer and more trying the wait the sweeter the win. 18 years is just not that long to wait. It's an even shorter wait if it was preceded by so many years of unbelievable success. I hope that the 49ers fans are happy Sunday night. Seeing loved ones happy is always a fine thing. I know this to be true as I've seen it five times. I hope that the younger 49ers fans, the ones that didn't know the happy days of Walsh, Montana, Lott, Rice, Craig and Young, know the experience of a Super Bowl win. I'll know that experience some day soon. Until then, I just smile when I hear how rough the last 18 years have been.