When rooting files san francisco 49ers, Famous sports personalities in the Gulf region are taking different approaches.
Dusty Baker roots for the 49ers from his couch in the same way he runs the Houston Astros from the top step of the dugout – internally condensed, chel city. Tara Vanderveer yelled at the 49ers through her TV screen, admitting, “I yell at everything, I’m a hideous fan.” The London Breed, an honorary member of this exclusive sports support group for the 49ers because she is the mayor of San Francisco, yelled angrily at the opposing team’s blind umpires and sloppy players, but never at the 49ers’ loved ones.
No matter their various cheering styles, all of these people have swept through Purdymania. The 49ers have won 12 straight games, with the rookie quarterback winning Brooke Purdy He won all seven games he started, a mind-boggling run.
To gauge the fervor and fever that the 49ers and Purdy arouse, I made a few calls to randomly sample the dignitaries. The takeaway: They’re all heart and soul. The 49ers are who their family is, Purdy is their genius child.
“It feels like we’re all kind of in this together,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “The All Faithful to the Bay hashtag, this is meaningful, I personally believe in it.”
Dusty Baker He became a 49ers cheerleader in 1963 when his family moved from Southern California to Sacramento.
“I came in with the old guys, like (John) Brodie and Ya Tittle, and John Henry Johnson and they’re all cats,” Baker said.
His ties to the 49ers were cemented when he became the manager of the San Francisco Giants in 1993 and received invaluable leadership guidance from Bill Walsh, who was coaching Stanford at the time.
“I used to go to Bill’s house all the time for those sessions,” Baker said. “Bill was like my first mentor, him and the Atlis. And when Bill died, he left me all his notes and stuff on how the 49ers got started, all his cards, they were invaluable.”
Baker even has a relationship of sorts with Purdy, who was the last player drafted last year, No. 262.
“You know something,” said Baker, “I work for these guys, the taller guys. I got drafted in the 25th round (No. 503 overall in 1967), so I draw those (underdogs) in a big way.”
A big question mark for Purdy is the pressure, how he’ll handle it the more it gets.
“I think people are still waiting for him to act like a rookie, but if it hasn’t happened yet, it probably won’t,” Baker said. “On Sunday, in the first half, it looked as if people were expecting him to play in a playoff game, being a rookie, but then in the second half he went back to acting like he’d been there before.”
Baker watched video of the college duel between Purdy and Now-Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, “So this isn’t (Purdy’s) first rodeo under pressure. And when you’re Mr. Irrelevant, you’re under pressure from the get-go.”
Watching the 49ers on TV, Baker isn’t a screamer.
“Nah,” he said, “because I realize how hard it is.” “I’ve got buddies with whom I watch games, and (Baker’s casual ‘tude’ drives them crazy. They’re like, ‘Where are you throwing the ball?’ And I’m like, Dude, do you think he could see that? Why don’t you shut up?”
Tara VanDerveer, The coach of the Stanford women’s basketball team, who was rooting for Christian McCaffrey when he played for Stanford, and “when (the Carolina Panthers) talked about trading him, I said, ‘Oh my God, the guys on the 49ers should get him, he’s great!'” “”
VanDerveer is all on this team. The Cardinals had a home game last Sunday morning and the coach was scheduled for a boost function after that.
“I said, ‘No, not today, 49ers, I have to go home and watch the game. “”
There was almost a tragedy during the telecast. VanDerveer’s cable cut out in the second half, so she called her sister Heidi, who gave Tara play-by-play until cable service was restored in the fourth quarter.
newly, VanDerveer reprinted the Chronicle story By Eric Branch, about how Purdy doesn’t mind when head coach Kyle Shanahan is hard on him. VanDerveer can be that way with its players. I read part of the story to the players, and put a copy in every locker.
“I love the fact that Shanahan can get over him, he’s not like a crybaby,” VanDerveer said.
Steve Kerr, head coach of the VanDerveer, Baker and Golden State Warriors, likens all 49ers of the moment to a puzzle, with all the pieces in place at just the right time.
“You’ve got a coach who likes to insult and call plays, with all those bits—(Depo) Samuel is back, (Elijah) Mitchell is doing well, (George) Kettle is crazy,” she said, “and that catch was awesome.” “But Birdie is special, he’s special. Forget where he was drafted and all that other stuff, he’s accurate. You watch some of these other guys. When Jimmy (Garoppolo) came back, his first game was throwing that interception outside the end zone. Purdy doesn’t pitch.” Dumb plays, he just plays inside himself, and it’s really exciting to see.”
VanDerveer — whose Cardinals ranks third in the country with freshman starting guard Telana Lepolo — loves how rookie Purdy handles pressure. VanDerveer offered what might be the best compliment to Purdy:
“It got the job done,” VanDerveer said. “He’s not out there just fiddling with his leg or something.”
Steve Kerr It was what I thought was perfect comp for Purdy.
“Maybe Fernando Valenzuela,” Kerr said. “As a Dodger fan growing up, I watched it, it kind of came out of nowhere and it was like Fernandomania just happened, and it became uncritical.”
In 1981, Valenzuela was a 20-year-old Dodger. He got off Opening Day when the scheduled starter was injured. Valenzuela won his first eight games that season and the Cy Young Award. In the World Series, the Yankees won the first two games, then Valenzuela won Game 3 and the Dodgers went on to win the series.
Purdy won the seven games he started.
“I definitely have 49-year-old fever,” Kerr said. “It’s been great watching them, on both sides of the ball. Incredible defense, and then all those weapons on offense. Birdie does a good job of keeping everyone involved and making really good decisions and making really good throws. It’s fun to watch, so I’m pulling them hard on Sunday.”
London dynasty This week he had a phone conversation with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
“I already said to the (Philadelphia) mayor, ‘We don’t want any trouble, make sure the Niners have water in their hotel, and you better treat them with respect,’ because we’re coming to win and we want to make sure you don’t hurt this great team.” “
Breed grew up in Western Addition and became a fan of the 49ers around the age of seven, just as the 1980s dynasty was beginning. Many people in her neighborhood worked on the 49 games in the “stick”.
“Sometimes we kids would just hop on the express bus with these guys, that was an adventure,” Breed said. “We’d go out to the sconce, and sometimes we could sneak around, or just walk around, then get on the bus and go home. I just wanted you to be a part of it.”
I asked Breed if the statute of limitations had expired on illegal entry.
“I’m out of touch,” she said, “it’s too late.” “The candlestick has disappeared.”
Breed brought up the names of several of the 49ers, then said, “So we’ve got all these great players who’ve been amazing, and now what we’re seeing with Brock, I’m really in awe of how vibrant this team is, and how energized and motivated they are… There’s something special about what they’re doing now.”
I asked Breed for the scoop on where the 49ers parade will be. I felt rough.
“I don’t want to talk about the Super Bowl, I don’t want to talk about lack of showmanship… Our focus should be on pushing the energy that we have, the positive, exciting energy, towards the team. I’m not messing with anything other than let’s beat Philly.”
Mark Kotsay, Oakland A’s manager, could contact Birdie. Koetsai was a very young quarterback in high school, and soccer was always his first love.
Kotsai said, “I’m going after Purdy, as someone who comes from an underdog organization, to a degree, right?”
Gabe Kapler He also said that soccer is his favorite sport and that he is “emotionally invested” in the 49ers. And excited to talk about them.
“This is my first interview with a football analyst,” joked the manager of the San Francisco Giants.
A meticulous planner, miller and detailer, Kapler was impressed by how prepared Brock was when he had the chance.
“Sometimes it’s about preparation and action, being ready for the moment,” Kappler said. “From the outside looking in, it looks like he had a moment that he was totally prepared for, took on all the work he’d done up to that point, and let his natural gifts kind of show through with that preparation…. He looks very comfortable on stage, very comfortable with The big moment, I think that’s what we’re seeing.”
VanDerveer’s final word: “It’s a magical race, right?”
Scott Ostler is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]