Sports Then and Now

It may be early, but one fan already believes he knows which NFC team will be playing in the Super Bowl.

NFL kickoff 2014 is nearly a month away, too far into the future to hear any predictions about who’s likely to reach the Super Bowl. Especially from a fan touting his own team.

But if my early prediction about the World Cup is any indicator, I deserve an exception.

The San Francisco 49ers are about to embark on a tremendous season.

The offseason has been tumultuous, to say the least. This may ultimately serve to provide the intrinsic motivation the team needs to push them forward for a great start to the season. They’ll need it, to be sure. Coach Jim Harbaugh and GM Trent Baalke have been embroiled in a power struggle that hasn’t yet been resolved. The season will need to be a rousing success in order to keep everyone happy.

On top of that, some players are unhappy about contracts, and defense is worrisome due to the ongoing threat of suspension of Aldon Smith due to off-field antics (if you can call a fake bomb threat to LAX ‘antics’). Chris Culliver and Adam Kilgore were arrested in the offseason, and even Colin Kaepernick had a run-in with the law (though was rightly exonerated of any wrongdoing).

So…what’s going right with the 49ers?

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Offense.

Kaepernick is starting this season with a fresh new long-term contract and the best pass-catching talent he has ever had. Stevie Johnson, added to the team in the fourth round of the draft, is about to become a household name in San Francisco. He’s very big, and very fast – he’s also making comments that he’s hungry to become a playmaker for the team this year. Fans should be very excited to see what he will bring to the table this fall. Carlos Hyde is another addition to offense that is going to really push the 49ers over the top. Plus Brandon Lloyd has been turning heads in offseason practice, and Marcus Lattimore is making his return.

Despite behind-the-scenes turmoil and a potentially less-than-stellar defense, the powerhouse offense will most likely be enough to make the 49ers an early standout this season.

The first pre-season game against the Ravens wasn’t a great success, but as they say, it was pre-season. It may be best to save a prediction until after the 49ers have shown a little more on the field, but…let’s just say that I don’t think the Seahawks will be allowed through to the Super Bowl in 2015.

Peter Getty’s love of sports began at the age of nine. Baseball first caught his attention when, growing up, he played catch with his dad, Gordon Peter Getty, the former CEO of Getty Oil.  During his youth, Peter participated in all the usual team sports–baseball, basketball, soccer and football. After coming to the realization that he was “awful” at all of them, he decided to be content with being a major sports fan by writing about them. Based in San Francisco, Peter stays current on all the Northern California teams, and has an excellent understanding of all professional sports. In addition to his posts on Sports Then and Now, you can also check out his own blog.

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