2011, September 11, Sunday.
The San Francisco 49ers kicked off the new season at Candlestick Park at home, facing their district rivals the Seattle Seahawks in the first game.
The team is located in the National League West Division. The four teams are the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. Among these four teams, the greatest and fiercest rival in the same division is the San Francisco 49ers. and St. Louis Rams.
Before the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, the team stayed in Los Angeles for a full fifty-eight years. As the Los Angeles Rams, they and the San Francisco 49ers became one of the greatest rivalries in the league's history. In 2008, ESPN selected the top ten rivals in the league, and "San Francisco 49ers VS St. Louis Rams" ranked eighth.
In comparison, the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals were placed in the same area as the San Francisco 49ers only after the league was rezoned in 2002. Although they are rivals in the same district, there is no historical connection and no grudges; and in just eight years, the two teams have always been in different peaks, and the peak matchup has never appeared. The atmosphere of each matchup is obviously much weaker. .
Until this year.
In 2010, the Seattle Seahawks changed coaches and hired Pete Carroll as head coach; in 2011, the San Francisco 49ers changed coaches and Jim Harper took over.
The personal feud between Pete and Jim has always been the most entertaining, confrontational and explosive pair of rivals in the NCAA over the past three years.
Pete Carroll served as the head coach of the University of Southern California from 2001 to 2009 and witnessed the team go from trough to glory, and then from the peak back to the bottom; Jim Harbaugh served as the head coach of the University of Southern California from 2007 to 2010. During the years, he served as the head coach of Stanford University. Under his leadership, the team was invincible and swept away thousands of troops, reaching the school's peak in the 21st century.
The University of Southern California and Stanford University have always been rivals in California, and with the addition of UCLA, the history of the three teams can be written as a record of grudges and grudges. However, due to the downturn of UCLA in recent years, it has gradually been unable to keep up with the other two opponents and has become a spectator, witnessing the Huashan swordfight and peak showdown between the University of Southern California and Stanford University for three consecutive years.
Jim is a coach with a flamboyant personality and a sharp edge, while Pete is also a maverick and rigorous coach. They never give in. Every time they meet, sparks collide with the earth. From the choking before the game , to the duel in the game, to the interview after the game, the duel between the two people has never lacked topics.
Now, the Seattle Seahawks led by Pete and the San Francisco 49ers led by Jim meet again, and they are going head-to-head. Especially now that both teams are in dire straits. Before these two old rivals have had time to face each other, the smell of gunpowder has already filled the air. Come on.
"It's nothing to worry about. I never regarded him as a rival." Pete Carroll said in an interview with the "Seattle Post" at the gate of Seattle's training base before leaving for San Francisco.
"In college, all his wins were won by Andrew Luck. Luck is a top-notch quarterback. I believe he will have a bright future in the league. As for the man behind the scenes who is famous for his reputation, I think He should realize his incompetence and stop talking nonsense."
After finishing speaking, Pete snorted and said disdainfully, "I don't think that quarterback who looks like a matchstick can create miracles again. I believe we will easily take away a quarterback from Candlestick Park." A victory."
Throughout the interview, Pete was full of disdain and contempt, and did not take Jim and the San Francisco 49ers seriously at all. As for Lu Ke, he is even more of a nobody.
Faced with Pete's provocation, Jim gave a strong counterattack, "If he is still immersed in the dream of college, then he'd better wake up now. Obviously, the record last year is the best proof, he is A mediocre, incompetent, arrogant coach."
Last year, the Seattle Seahawks only achieved a poor record of seven wins and nine losses, but thanks to the even worse records of other division opponents, they became the first division champion in NFL history to win less and lose more, and entered the playoffs. . After defeating the defending champion New Orleans Saints in the first round of the playoffs, they lost to the Chicago Bears in the second round, ending their campaign.
Although the Seattle Seahawks entered the playoffs and even entered the second round, they left a record in league history in an embarrassing and bitter way, and Pete Carroll's ability has also been questioned by many.
During the offseason, Pitt believed that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was not capable enough to carry the team forward. So, he fired Matt, traded for Travis Jackson (Tarvaris-Jakcson) from the Minnesota Vikings, and completed a purge of all the team's backup quarterbacks to start a new season.
"His best skill is to blame all the faults on the players. Other people's success comes from the excellence of the players, and his failures all come from the poorness of the players." Jim is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and his words Sharp, uncompromising, and fought back straight away, "In the end, instead of caring about the players on our team, he should take care of the mad dogs in his own team first! Losing games and losing people, that is the real shame. !”
The so-called mad dog refers to the rookie of the Seattle Seahawks team, Richard Sherman.
This rookie player kept talking nonsense during the rookie training camp, but his ability was not recognized by the scouts. In the end, he was only selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the draft.
After the draft, Richard boasted in front of the media and angrily attacked other teams, "All the scouts are blind. I want to make the other thirty-one teams regret it. Take a good look at me." It's awesome. Tell you what, any pass that comes my way, I'm going to make it a disaster!"
After three months of silence in the training camp, the new season officially kicked off, and Richard jumped out again, "The Chinese quarterback is simply a disgrace to the league. He is a clown, as weak as Bambi. , Bambi is his nickname, it’s sensational and disgusting.”
"He was a funny character jumping up and down during the rookie training camp, constantly looking for players to take pictures, and eager to kneel down and lick every player..." Richard said the following words directly, but during the interview, the reporter continued "He's a total sissy. I can't believe a team would be so stupid as to use him as a quarterback."
Finally, Richard pointed at the reporter's camera with his right index finger, "Tell you, if you dare to pass a ball towards me, I will make you swallow the bitter pill. I will kick a stray male dog as hard as I can." I’ll teach you a lesson! Let you know that this is my territory!”
A rookie, and a fifth-round pick at that. Almost no one in the league knew Richard Sherman, but at this time, this little guy not only talked arrogantly, but also directly provoked his opponents with bold words - of course, the 49ers' Chinese-American four-pointer In everyone's eyes, Wei is an opponent that everyone can challenge, so before the start of this game, there is another point of interest.
Although, everyone thought that Lu Ke did not have the guts to challenge Richard.
Faced with Jim's accusation, Pete pushed back without itching or hurting, "Players have the freedom to express their opinions. If you can't bear it, it's best to go home and find your mother."
"As expected of his player, his mouth is as bad as his, a special mouth for excretion." Later in the interview, Jim responded, "Then we will see the truth on the field."
The game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks has not yet started, but the teams have already completed several rounds of confrontation, and the excitement of this pair of division rivals is rising sharply.
So, between the two teams that are experiencing internal and external troubles, who can get a good start to the season? Also, how will the first game in league history in which Asian players start the game end?
Logically speaking, this will be a much-anticipated game, but in fact, it is just that the PR draft looks beautiful: this game was not able to be included in the night game live broadcast, at 1:10 pm local time in San Francisco The five-point split was just one of many games that started at the same time.
The historic moment that the league has been touting as more of a "Chaplin" moment is a complete joke.
However, even if it did not enter the live broadcast of the night game, even if the publicity was only for political correctness, this game still attracted a lot of attention. Even if it is a cookie-cutter press release, even if it is a boring duel, even if there is no suspense result, even if the first Asian player in history starts, this news must be reported. As a result, thousands of reporters arrived at Candlestick Park immediately.
What's more, the game day is also the tenth anniversary of "911 Time". Fox will broadcast the game, providing a platform for fans in San Francisco and Seattle to watch.
On September 11, in the morning, Candlestick Park was already crowded with people, including a large number of reporters, a large number of fans, a large number of away fans, and a large number of spectators joining in the fun. It was bustling and lively. Even though fans in San Francisco had lost faith in the team, season ticket holders showed up for the season opener to at least make a show of supporting the team.
As Candlestick Park on the edge of the city, it is not only a football field, but also a baseball stadium. It is less than ten kilometers from the city center and has very convenient transportation. Since 1971, it has been the home stadium of the San Francisco 49ers and can accommodate nearly 70,000 people. audience.
The golf course is built on an artificial peninsula made of construction waste, facing the sea and blooming in spring. However, it happens to embrace a "wind door", which also makes the golf course linger in the cold wind full of smoke all year round. It's like a wonderland; it's also one of the windiest courses in the league.
Today, right here, the Alliance witnesses history.
