From 1981 to 1994 the San Francisco 49ers were the most dominant football team on the planet. In that fourteen-year period they won five Superbowls and qualified for the playoffs twelve times. They sent five players and one coach from their Superbowl-winning teams to the Pro Football hall of Fame. Two of those players, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, are widely considered to be the greatest players to ever play their positions, and some even consider them to be the two greatest players at any position. While the success the 49ers had throughout the 80’s and in the early 90’s may have been great at the time, it casts shadow over the team today. Their lack of success only builds the anticipation and expectations for a team that has proven to be unable to meet them. But that prior success also motivates the fans think about what could be, propelling their faith and optimism. The major difference between the past and present is the philosophy of the organization. A once proud, successful organization fell to becoming the epitome of failure whose only connection to its dominant past is in through blood of its owner, Jed York, whose uncle, Eddie Debartolo Jr, owned the team from 1977 to 1999.

Image borrowed from nflgridirongab.com