“The greatest test of  
courage on earth is to  
bear defeat without  
losing heart.” 
Robert Green Ingersoll

As I was born and raised in San Francisco, it should come as no surprise that I follow the San Francisco 49ers. I wouldn’t describe myself as an avid fan. There have been seasons when I’ve enjoyed watching them play (usually the seasons they’ve been winning), and there have been times when I had absolutely no interest in following them (their losing seasons). I just wanted to put that on the table, because it’s the truth. In fact, I’m not a fan of professional football at all.

Still, when the Chicago Bears came to town last week for a showdown with the 49ers, I got caught-up in the game. Until tonight, it was the only game this season that I watched from start to finish. I can also say that it was just about the most exciting professional football game I’ve ever seen. Both teams played well. Both teams were deserving of a victory. The display of offense by both teams was downright impressive. The 49ers emerged victorious.

The Seattle Seahawks came to town tonight. A win by the 49ers would guarantee them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — including the Super Bowl, which will be played right here at Levi Stadium on Sunday, February 8th. A loss tonight would still allow San Francisco to continue in the playoffs, but they would have to play on the road and would miss out on a bye-week next weekend. The game tonight was a total blowout.

The final score of 13-3 does not begin to tell the story of the absolute dominance of the Seahawks throughout the game. From start to finish, on both offense and defense, Seattle throttled the 49ers. For San Francisco fans, it was just plain ugly. For Seahawks fans, a win is a win, but even a dominant performance like they witnessed tonight had to be tainted by Seattle’s inability to put points on the board. Yes, they won the game convincingly, but the score will undoubtedly be a wake-up call for Seahawks players and coaches.

I don’t normally write a second blog post in a day, but having watched tonight’s game, and seeing the 49ers looking so impotent from start to finish, I realized that this might be a good time for true fans of the team to reflect on one of my favorite quotes from former Green Bay Packers’ head coach Vince Lombardi. He said, “If you can’t accept losing, you can’t win.”  

Legendary Olympian Wilma Rudolph also had some words of wisdom to share about winning and losing. She said, ”Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”

The 49ers are in the playoffs. If they play well enough, there is a good chance they will earn the right to redeem themselves in the NFC championship game, most likely against the Seahawks in Seattle, on January 25th. Before that match-up, however, they must take care of business in the next two weeks.