It takes a great team to lose such a great game
San Francisco: My 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs in a pitched, torturous, violent battle that went into the final seconds of the first overtime. The fact that it continued to the final seconds of, in boxing championship parlance, the 16th round is testament to the highest levels of competitiveness, skill, determination and championship mettle of both teams. To the victor go the spoils, and the 49ers suffered a devastating loss. It was devastating because, after two Super Bowl losses in the past several years, it seemed that with just a couple of minutes to go, we were going to win this!
The 49ers were facing a player, Patrick Mahomes, who one day might be considered the Muhammed Ali of football — the greatest quarterback to ever play. His challenger was Brock Purdy, the upstart but mature-beyond-his-years 49ers quarterback — calm, talented, cerebral, impressive on the biggest of all stages, the Super Bowl. Purdy (photo), the last player picked in the 2022 draft, matched the heavyweight champion Mahomes, even exceeding him for much of the game. But in the final seconds, Mahomes and the Chiefs prevailed, as defending champions often do. It was a game that turned multiple times like hairline curves on a two-lane highway. A game of inches? Take away the Kansas City punt that inadvertently touched the shoe of a 49er player downfield — resulting in a Chiefs touchdown — and this game likely has a different ending.
The pundits will criticize coaching decisions, but despite losing, we witnessed a championship-caliber performance by the 49ers that has this 49er faithful quite proud.
Bruce Farrell Rosen