San Francisco 49ers Tickets : The San Francisco 49ers Were The First Major League Professional Sport

The San Francisco 49ers (often referred to as the Niners) are a professional football team

. The team plays its home games in San Francisco, California, while the club's headquarters and practice facility are located in Santa Clara. The 49ers are currently a member of the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

The 49ers began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC merged into the older league. The team was the first NFL franchise to win five Super Bowls. San Francisco is second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl wins (6) and tied with the Dallas Cowboys with 5 each. Their five league titles place them in a four-way tie for fifth behind the Green Bay Packers (12), the Chicago Bears (9), the New York Giants (7), and the Steelers (6).

The 49ers teams of the 1980s and early 1990s were a great dynasty given their five Super Bowl triumphs in that span, including four in the 1980s. The Niners won 10 or more games for 16 straight seasons. Particularly notable seasons are the 1984 and 1989 teams. Three-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana, perennial Pro Bowler Ronnie Lott, all-time highest career quarterback rating holder Steve Young, and career touchdown leader Jerry Rice played for the 49ers during this period.

Additionally, some of the most memorable plays (including "The Catch") and games (such as Super Bowl XXIII) were played by this team.The name "49ers" comes from the name given to the gold prospectors who arrived in Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush.

The Green Bay Packers are another major rival of the 49ers. In recent years, the 49ers have been on the losing end of this rivalry, having lost the last 8 regular season games against the Packers, and having an all-time post season record of 1 - 4 against Green Bay. In particular the loss to the Packers in the 1995 divisional Playoffs was bitter, as it ended hopes for a Super Bowl repeat. The lone playoff win for The 49ers came in the 1998 Wildcard game, when Steve Young completed a game-winning touchdown to Terrell Owens in the last few seconds of the game (now known as "The Catch 2"). Many people thought this would end the streak of futility against the Packers, but the 49ers have yet to beat them since.

On November 8, 2006, reports surfaced that the 49ers ended negotiations with the city of San Francisco about building a new stadium and plan to move to Santa Clara, 30 miles south of San Francisco; Santa Clara already hosts the team's administrative headquarters and training facility. The Yorks and San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom had been talking over the last few months about building a privately financed stadium at Candlestick Point that was going to be part of the city's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The 49ers' decision ended the Olympic bid.

San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago were the three cities competing to be the U.S. Olympic Committee's choice to bid on the 2016 games, with Chicago emerging as the eventual victor.

n 1994, the team spent large amounts of money on the addition of several star free agents from other teams, including Ken Norton, Jr., Gary Plummer, Rickey Jackson, Richard Dent, Charles Mann and Deion Sanders.

Additionally, several rookie players made key contributions to the team, some becoming season-long starters such as defensive tackle Bryant Young, fullback William Floyd, and linebacker Lee Woodall. The 49ers had some tough times early in the season, including a 40/8 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and a 24/17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, led by former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. Following the Eagles game, a poll conducted on local sports radio station KNBR showed that an overwhelming majority of 49er fans wanted head coach George Seifert fired.

The game against the Eagles was a turning point for the 49ers despite the lopsided score. Young was benched in the 3rd quarter and was later seen livid on the sidelines, shouting profanities at head coach George Seifert. The following week in Detroit, the 49ers trailed the Lions 14-0. After throwing a pass, Young was hit, picked up, and driven into the ground by three Lions defenders. After the hit, Young was screaming with his face dark red in color. He crawled most of the way off of the field before refusing help from the trainers as he limped the remaining way off the field. He miraculously returned to the field one play later (NFL rules state that after trainers attend to an injured player, that player must leave the field for at least one play) to lead the 49ers to a 27/21 victory.

The team rallied around Young to win 10 straight games, including a 21-14 victory over the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. During that span the 49ers' average margin of victory was nearly 20 points per game, a sustained dominance not seen since the 1985 Chicago Bears. Despite scoring only 8 points in one game and 14 in another the 49ers set a new record for total regular season and post season combined points scored. That record was later broken by the Minnesota Vikings in 1998 and the New England Patriots in 2007.

by: Cynthia Hoffman

POST COMMENT

How To Build A Boat Out Of Aluminum Foil Use Wii With Wii Sports Resort To Be Able To Be More Close With Your Family How To Build A Boat Trailer Sport News-scola Halo Bush Botched Dunk Laugh(9.29) Fracture Humerus Treatment And Sports Physical Exams: Protect Your Bone Health At Any Age How To Build A Boat That Floats How To Build A Boat Out Of Popsicle Sticks Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation How To Build A Boat In A Bottle Tortola Attractions To Explore Before Your Catamaran Charter Or Bvi Bareboat Charter Vacation How To Build A Boat Ramp What Are The Different Types Of Sports Watches And Their Functions? How To Build A Boat Lift