49ers 34, Colts 31

Yet another cowardly win against worst in NFL has turned many into NHS believers

October 20, 1998 (NHS) -- A picture is worth a thousand words, seeing is believing.

You didn't trust the NHS? You didn't believe in the 49er Problem? If you saw Sunday's game involving the 49ers and Colts, now you do.

Yes, it's a week of celebration for the NHS, because this game may have done more to help our cause than all our previous efforts combined. The affront to decency that was perpetrated in broad daylight ripped down the 49er Facade and exposed millions of flabbergasted viewers to the full splendor of the 49er Problem. Then, to add insult to injury, the 49er Bandwagon has reached new heights of ignorance and duplicity in deeming this a "great" win.

First, the game itself: a travesty of justice. The Colts were criminally denied their rightful win by blatantly biased and corrupt officiating. While we've seen this exact same biased officiating for over 15 years and counting and exposed it in our teachings here, millions sat as virgins, oblivious to the 49er Problem, only to have their senses finally raped. The showcase was a slap in the face to the these fans that were captivated by the effort and heart of the 18-point underdogs. In a state of disbelief, these fans were outraged at the injustice. To appease the masses, the NFL had to act in almost unheard of fashion: they issued a statement officially confirming that the penalties on two plays that took away two interceptions from the Colts were blown.

Then, enter the Bandwagon: the 49ers, their media and their fans turned this filthy, tainted win into a victory of epic proportions and are trumpeting it as something of which to be proud. Steve Young ranked it among the best games ever and called it a "great, great win." The media anointed Young, J.J. Stokes, Wade Richey and others as heroes. And the 49er fans? Any legitimate football fan would be disgusted and embarrassed by such a performance by their team, but since the vast bulk of 49er fans are not legitimate, they came away crowing about another great win for "the best team ever."

Colts show up for football, instead find corruption

The "game", of course, was not a true football game. What do you call an event with rules that bend on the whim of biased officials? Certainly not football. The most accurate term is "joke". Whatever you want to call it, it was defined by the two blown calls which were so bad that it was almost insulting that the NFL came out officially against them -- like we couldn't see it for ourselves.

The first call occurred with the Colts leading 21-7. The ball was intercepted by Indianapolis defensive back Jeff Burris in his own endzone. He returned it to the 49ers' 32-yard line, which almost certainly would have led to a 24-7 lead and, given the way that Peyton Manning was carving up the 49ers' at the time, most likely an insurmountable 28-7 lead. Instead, the officials called Burris for "holding" and the 49ers were handed the ball back and ultimately a touchdown.

On the 49ers' next possession, Young again threw a pick, again it was overruled ruled by a defensive holding penalty, and again the 49ers got the ball back and scored. The result of the botched calls? A point swing of a minimum of 14 and as much as 28 points.

In a testament to how bad the 49ers were on this day, the Colts still had a chance to win, remarkable considering they are arguably the worst team in football. And true to that appraisal, Indy had the ball on the 49ers' 35-yard line with time running out, but instead of driving for the winning score, they settled for a failed 53-yard field goal attempt. It's no surprise that the Colts folded; coach Jim Mora probably had a flashback to his NFC West days. But the bottom line is that there never should have been any mystery to this game -- the Colts' deserved romp was illegally taken away. At least the NFL had the dignity to admit it by releasing the statement about the botched calls.

Sure, there's more, but there's no real need to even bother pointing out each and every injustice, because anyone with a brain came away knowing that the officiating was ludicrously swayed for the 49ers. Corrupt, yes, but paid off? Who knows at this point. Certainly the nicest thing you can say is that the officials are simply biased.

While the impulse reaction is to be outraged that the 49ers get yet another cowardly win, the opposite is, in fact, true. This game is a blessing for the NHS and 49er-haters everywhere.

You could almost see the light bulbs going on in the minds of millions of fans across the country, all with the common thought: "this game is a fraud." Instead of its usual subtlety, the biased officiating took the spotlight. The showcase of blatantly biased officiating has spread the teachings of the NHS far beyond our mere words here because of the simple fact that a picture is worth a thousand words.

We've been teaching for years that, as a rule, a huge reason for the 49ers' success these past few years is having the referees in their pockets. But as we said, it's usually subtle or combined with justifications and obfuscations by the media (e.g., not showing a replay when a questionable call goes the 49ers' way, not discussing it on air or in the papers) so the average fan doesn't get it.

Anyone who saw this game gets it.

Take a really, really bad team as an opponent and combine it with that 49er officiating and you get the inevitable result: a typical, cowardly 49er win, a win that's meaningless in all facets except what it teaches of the 49er Problem and that it puts the undeserving team one step closer to the playoffs. This is the essence of when people talk of "the 49er Way."

Proud of the 49er Way

The insipid 49er bandwagon is at it again in terms of absolute ignorance and media propaganda because they've embraced this cowardly win with such verve and vigor that you'd think the 49ers just won the Super Bowl.

First, the media. If you caught the headlines, you saw all you need to see, and what more can you say about a media that turns beating a 1-5 team into a triumphant victory? We've asked people to pick their explanation many times: is the mainstream media (a) simply biased; (b) incredibly stupid; or (c) purposefully deceiving the public with propaganda? There are no other choices, for to term this a "remarkable comeback" and speak of "greatest feats" and "heroics", the media is one or all of those three choices. There's no other explanation for overlooking the fact that the 49ers did nothing but sit and let the awful Colts and biased officiating hand them the game. The media's criminal treatment of this game is best exemplified by their stroking of Steve Young.

Living a lie

The yearly game where Steve Young is a hero has come and gone with the corresponding annual "best run in the history of the NFL". For instance, it happened against Cincinnati last season. And, gee, what do the Bengals and Colts have in common?

Obviously they are both horrible teams. Yet that fact is always conveniently forgotten when placing Young on the hero pedestal. Instead, every local paper had two, three or more stories devoted simply to saying how great Steve Young was for single-handedly winning this game.

The truth: Young single-handedly lost the game.

Given that the NFL has officially declared the two blown calls, the only correct way to look at Young's performance is to look as if the game was called honestly; by putting the correct results of those plays back into the equation. Give Young two more interceptions, cancel two of his touchdowns, and most likely give Indianapolis more points. Bottom line is that had the game been called according to the rules, Young is never in the position to help his team and there is no comeback effort. In reality, his poorly thrown balls cost the 49ers the game.

Instead, the media heaped the usual love on Young and the NFL, living up to its pro-49er tradition, hilariously rewarded Young as Offensive Player of the Week. How the hell can Young be Offensive Player of the Week if -- under their own admission -- he should have rightly had two less touchdowns and two more interceptions that cost his team the game? Did the NFL really think they could totally contradict themselves in issuing the blown call ruling and the Player of the Week award at the same time and get away with it?

Notwithstanding the above, we need to once again remind you that the fact that the Colts are awful should preclude any awards or "heroes" in and of itself. Go back and read that Bengals game review if you don't understand the concept.

Coup de grace

Legitimate fans would be pissed-off and disgusted following this game. After all, the 49ers pretend to be an elite team, but the simple fact is that an elite team would have slaughtered the Colts at home. A self-respecting team would not have used officiating to cheese out a win.

"Legitimate" and "self-respecting" rarely attach to 49er fans. True, there is a tiny contingent of real 49er fans, but the vast bulk are of the ignorant and belligerent bandwagon mold we speak of in these pages. The fan reaction following the game was yet more evidence. Sure, you heard some gripes about Antonio Langham and the defense, but most 49er fans left happy and proud of their "best ever" team. After all, why waste time looking at a game from the standpoint of reality? Why criticize? It's cool they won, and if they happen not to win down the road, there's lots of other things to do in "the Bay Area."

The moral

The obvious is confirmed: all a team needs is a quarterback to rise above the level of "atrocious" to carve up the 49ers. Unfortunately, the 49ers live in the NFC West, where atrocious is the rule for quarterbacks.

Up next is Tony Banks, who takes his job so seriously that he didn't bother making the flight back from Miami with the team last week and missed team meetings. Expect another typical performance from the Sheep and the 49ers to hide their faults in the NFC West.

And our prediction for the bandwagon next week? The improved play of the 49ers' secondary won't be because Banks and the Rams suck, but because of the triumphant return of Marquez Pope and the genius of coach Mariucci to bench Antonio Langham. Steve Young will throw for 300 yards again, not because the opponents suck, but because he's the "best ever". Jerry Rice will set a couple records, not because of the awful competition and rules changes in this wussy era of football, but because he's "the best ever".

The more outrageous the Bandwagon gets, the more people are going to wake up. We're simply the alarm clock.

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