95.7 The Game on Friday revealed the complete list of its fan-voted top 10 Bay Area athletes of all-time. San Francisco 49ers fans — and sports fans in general — will notice a very familiar face at No. 1. It's Bay Area icon and Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, who is the greatest ever to play his position and arguably the best ever to play the game.
Three other athletes represent the 49ers on the list. They are Joe Montana, who sits at No. 3, Ronnie Lott at No. 8, and Steve Young at No. 9.
...and there it is. The full list, voted on by YOU! Is there anything you would change? pic.twitter.com/101BgWv2uM
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) July 17, 2020
Jerry Rice joined the station on Friday and reacted to being ranked at the top of the list.
"That's really amazing, looking at this list. Oh my God," Rice told Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto, and Matt Kolsky. "You know, all the GOATS on this list, Barry, Mays, Joe, Curry, Lott, Young, oh my God.
"You know, I never imagined that I would have so much success on the football field, but for the fans to vote me number one, that really means a lot to me. It's something that I'll never forget. It really caught me off guard. I'm really humbled, all of that. It's amazing."
Rice, of course, holds every major receiving record, many of which may never be touched. During his 20 NFL seasons, he racked up 22,895 receiving yards on 1,549 receptions with 197 receiving touchdowns — all records. Rice also had the most seasons of 1,000-or-more receiving yards with 14, was the fastest player to reach 100 touchdowns (120 games) and holds the record for all-purpose yards (23,546) and all-purpose touchdowns (208).
The Hall of Fame receiver didn't think so many of his records would stand this long, not with how the game is played today.
"It's more a passer game now," Rice explained. "The ball is in the air more, and I just felt like, eventually, someone would come along and break some of the records. And I believe records are meant to be broken. I think, by me not getting complacent, and continue to really work hard, it's going to take someone that is totally committed to break my records.
"And they're going to have to be able to basically also play through pain because that was something that I could always do. And to play over 20 years the way I did, and really be productive and efficient on the football field, you're going to have to be able to play through pain. That's something that I was really able to block out and go out and excel on the football field."
Rice revealed that he never felt he was the best to play the game. That's what motivated him to be great.
"I just felt like I just kept pushing myself," Rice continued. "It was that fear of failure that kept motivating me. I never wanted to let anyone down. I didn't want to let the fans down here in San Francisco. I didn't want to let my teammates down, the coaches, or anybody in the organization, my family back home. So it was always that fear that kept pushing me.
"Like I said, I'm honored to be number one, and it's one of those things that I don't really take for granted. I feel like it's something that I really appreciate, the fans for voting (for) me."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Rice below.
