But, I digress.
When I was a kid, I spent an awful lot of time watching Good Morning Vietnam. It is not the best movie on the war. But, it sure as hell is funny. There is a line in that movie that, in light of the Richard Sherman signing, seems apropos: https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/77871d6f-a94e-4bb2-86f5-cca429668b91#B1nxludQYG.copy
Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, "the Big Dick is here, Get ready." Richard Sherman joins a 49ers defensive squad that needs shoring up in the secondary. If--and to be fair, it is the reason his contract is the way it is--he is healthy it could be a steal for us. And, it fits our longstanding willingness to sign those who have, in the not so distant past, been an enemy of sorts.
- Ken Norton Jr. was a Cowboy before he became a beloved 49er.
- Deion Sanders, a popular comparison tool currently, was a Falcon before he became a 49er.
- Kevin Gogan was a Raider and a Cowboy before he became a 49er.
- Matt Millen was a Raider before becoming a 49er.
- Garrison Hearst was a Cardinal before becoming a 49er.
There are more, certainly. But I want to add a name to this list that is far more relative to Dick Sherman. This man:
Anquan Boldin. Longtime Cardinal and then Raven, oh, yes, from that Raven's team, and eventually tough as nails, NFL Man of the Year winning,beloved wide receiver for your San Francisco 49ers. Sure, he was never hated like Richard Sherman was/is. He did, however, come from the team that beat us in the Super Bowl and ended our undefeated franchise winning streak in that game. I guarantee there were some Niner fans not at all happy with the signing at the time. But, in my opinion, he helped us damn near get back to a Super Bowl.
So, Sherman is here. Can we forgive him for his skill, history against us, and, well, his attitude? In our case, we have felt the wrath of all three and did so largely at the Zenith of the Niner-Seahawk rivalry of the 2010s:
Well, sir. I am going to do so. It was Jan 19, 2014, 22 seconds left when the man that many on these boards cannot stand sealed the deal, in his mind, in his rivalry with Michael Crabtree, altered the professional trajectory of his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh, and confirmed the doubts of many Niner fans that Colin Kaepernick would never be the guy for this franchise, by tipping CK 7's fade to the right corner of the end zone into the hands of linebacker Malcolm Smith. We have not been back to the playoffs since.
By the way, the guy intercepting the ball was the same Malcolm Smith that plays for your beloved 49ers, today.
Forget the Turkey day stuff. Forget his general trolling of Crabtree and Harbs. It was that moment, right there, that congealed 49ers fans hatred for him. And it is for that very reason that we should embrace him today. When he made that play, he was full of piss and vinegar. He needed that edge. Richard needed the anger with Harbaugh about his time at Stanford and for passing him in the draft. He needed that rivalry and real world beef with Crabtree. He needed the underdog mentality by being a member of the up and coming Seahawks.
Today, he needs to go at an organization that lost faith in him. Therefore, he needs to see them twice a year because for a guy like Sherman, once ain't going to do it. He needs the frustration of dealing with an Achilles injury. And he needs to do it with the team he has spent the better part of his career tormenting. As he told Peter King:
" "Vengeful," Sherman said. "I love the fan base to death, and I loved playing there. It was such a great opportunity. I helped the organization get to a great place and stay there. But now it's like I abandoned them. People are out there burning my jersey. Come on. I'm not the one who let me go. They let me go. I didn't abandon anybody."
And we need him here. But not just as Richard Sherman. In other words, give me a Richard Sherman that is pissed off, feels slighted, and is ready to do the work to get better and put us back on a solid course for number six. Simply, we need the guy we have called a "Dick" for the past six or so years. Not because it is a nickname for Richard, but because he was a "dick" to us. Now, we get to do what we all, I am betting, wanted to do. Cheer for this guy because now he is sticking it to our most hated rival today.
I am Fropwns.
[ Edited by fropwns on Mar 12, 2018 at 12:07 PM ]
