I seem to remember devastating losses more as individual games and moments than big wins. The wins become blurred in my mind as one inevitable, unstoppable continuous stream of great sequences. The losses stand out agonizingly in hyper slow motion. The 'what could have been but wasn't ' makes more of an impact in some ways. To this day the worst Niner memories I have we're those three consecutive playoff losses to Dallas from 1970-1972. Following the franchise was just a teenage whim a few years earlier, and they never rose above mediocrity. But finally, Dick Nolan put together a balanced and exciting team. I still have an old vinyl album of hilites from the 1970 season and divisional clinching game. The audio of celebration from the likes of John Brodie, Dave Wilcox, (the real) Gene Washington (not the Vikings pretender) and old pro Charlie Krueger was fun to hear. And i might have a decayed audio cassette with the TV audio of Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier praising the Niners as they beat the Lions and Redskins late in the season. The VCR hadn't made it's appearance yet. They won a close playoff game in frozen Minnesota, but bloody Dallas contained them in the championship game. The same the next year. And the year after. Then it was a nine year wait till the Montana-Walsh era. All I wanted was one Superbowl to file away in memory, so the next twenty years were an unbelievable bounty of sustained pleasures.

If I could recall one really favorite game it was the Superbowl blowout of the Broncos in 1989/90. Coasting to a back to back accomplishment was pure spectator satisfaction. Also the drubbing of the Dolphins in 1984 when Marino was toasted as a god and Montana slighted by the likes of Howard Cossell and the media infatuated with the new golden boy. Who never did win a championship.

Last Edited By: Arnold49 01/15/13 01:51 AM. Edited 2 times.