When the 49ers move, some of us will die a little more | NowPublic News Coverage

When the 49ers move, some of us will die a little more

by clorenz1 | November 9, 2006 at 04:46 pm

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I was born into a Bears family. My father and his three brothers were cheering on the only team worth a spit in the NFL before I was even a glimmer. But my dad moved from Chicago to Washington, DC: my place of birth, a Redskins fan by default. And no matter how many games we watched or how many people pushed me towards the yellow & red I was not happy. Perhaps it was the politically incorrect characture of the Native American mascot or because they had no style. It became evident that I was born a 49er and I will die a 49er. I knew one day I would move to San Francisco and complete my journey, but back in the 80's I wore my gold 9ers jacket with pride. When I moved to Ohio, I laughed at those ridicules Browns fans, and loved there instant hatred of the free flying gold and red, timeless winners. I wore number 80 in football. Those Bengels were even more fun to cheer against. Rice, Montana, Young, Taylor, Lott, and the list goes on, and on. When I look back on my childhood I remember my family, and I remember Joe Montana passing to Jerry Rice, perfection in motion, the 49ers. And now they may move away. Well it may only be a few miles, but as each recent season seems to looks bleaker it seems that the once late great San Francisco 49ers will never be the same. It feels like a different location and a different team...

But the 49ers' identity will be forever changed if the club moves away from Candlestick Point and its dilapidated, wind-swept stadium -- the home to several of the most memorable playoff games in NFL history during San Francisco's run to five Super Bowl championships in the past quarter-century.

Before the 49ers moved to Candlestick Park on the waterfront near the southern boundary of the city in 1971, they played their first 25 seasons at Kezar Stadium, a charming, cramped field that still sits in the heart of San Francisco, just a short walk from the Haight-Ashbury district. Coach Mike Nolan saw his first 49ers games there when his father, Dick, ran the club.

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at 17:23 on November 9th, 2006

What surprises me is how incredibly nonchalant people are being about the whole idea. In my local newspaper, two hours from the Bay, it was just a brief.