Familiar Territory

I’ve been here before.

After seeing Missouri get upset last night at home to Oklahoma State, I realized something this morning watching the replay or recording, if you will. I have had to suffer through a Missouri team doing well against my team who traditionally beat the crap out of them. No, I’m not speaking of the 42-6 loss in 2007, and I’m not talking about our first loss the Tigers since 1978 back in 2003 even. I’m talking about a different league here.

Back in the late 90’s, in my football world all was well. Nebraska was just coming off another national championship, and everyone in my house was happy. My NFL team was a perennial playoff and Super Bowl contender. Something I had enjoyed since as long as I could remember. But a funny thing happened on our way to the end of the millennium.

Tom Osborne retired, even though the Huskers did accomplish another conference title and a couple BCS Bowl appearances, but I’m not here to talk about the Huskers. I’m here to talk about my pro football team, the San Francisco 49ers.

I can’t imagine I’m not unlike a lot of guys my age who were children of the 80’s. How could you not be a fan of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and being a Husker fan, players like Roger Craig and Tom Rathman?

I’d have to say in my football watching career, 1994 was the greatest year for me. Nebraska exercised some major demons by winning their first national title since 1971, in the Orange Bowl, against Miami. That’s poetic justice on the prairie. To top it off a few weeks earlier, the 49ers beat San Diego in the Super Bowl in dominating fashion. A football sweep! Unheard of.

Fast forward back to 1999 and I’m at Northwest Missouri State going to college. The St. Louis Rams are one of the biggest surprises in the NFL. The 49ers are working on missing the playoffs for the first time in about 20 years. A blend of disappointment I’d come to have to deal with regarding both teams over the next five years.

“The Greatest Show on Turf” is something I heard about as the “same old sorry ass Rams” put it on my team year after year for the next few years. Watch a former sacker at a grocery store win league MVP's and constant shots of his annoying wife while telling his heart warming story. Watching Marshall Faulk wrap up a nice career. Seeing Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt pick up 10 yards at a time with ease. And while at home, playing that stupid Todd Rundgren song after every touchdown.

So, like I’ve said. I’ve been here before. Once dominate team I cheered for is now a doormat for former doormat. Now, the Rams are back to where they used to be and the 49ers are no better than mediocre. But, the important thing to remember, is that everything will pass. Missouri may never return to a doormat, but everything plays out in cycles. I know Nebraska fans aren't used to that, because the top of our last cycle last for about 35 years, so dealing with the bottom is hard for us to do.

We’ll beat Missouri again. We’ll even beat them in Columbia, even though we haven’t done it since 2001. Yesterday showed that this team is moving in the right direction. Sure, we didn’t win and we still made a lot of boneheaded mistakes, but it was much better than the previous week, right?

If watching the NFL and one of the pro Missouri teams has taught me, it’s that even if I have to sit through a few years of the media being all over said Missouri team, things will eventually reshuffle. Now, if someone can somehow convince Jeremy Maclin to go into the 2009 Draft, that would be awesome. And have Blaine Gabbert transfer to South Florida or something.