Montana has bold Super Bowl prediction, ‘My team will win’
You may not know it the way he cold-heartedly snatched victory from a conga line of disheartened opponents during his playing days, but Joe Montana has an impish side.
Throwing wadded up adhesive tape at unsuspecting teammates in the locker room? Yeah, he did that.
“Borrowing,” bicycles, the prime transportation when the 49ers trained at Sierra College in Rocklin? Yeah he did that.
Advising his offensive teammates that comedian John Candy was in the stands as they waited to start the 92-yard drive that would win Super XXIII against the Cincinnati Bengals? Yeah, he did that, too.
So it could hardly have been a surprise when Montana gave his take on the upcoming Super Bowl.
For those of you who are coming late to the
festivities, Joe Montana played the final two years of his Hall of Fame career with the Kansas City Chiefs. And yes, he posted that photo of his shrine from his house, too.
But seriously, folks, Montana can take it down a notch, as he did while talking to the L.A. Times’ Sam Farmer.
“It’s hard to pick between,” Montana said. “Yeah, we live here in San Francisco, so there’s a little bit of a different feel, just because you don’t have that touch with Kansas City all the time. But there’s a place in my heart for them both. Kansas City was so good and accepting of us coming in there. It’s not easy, and there’s a lot of expectation. But like (wife) Jen says, I’m guaranteed my team will win.”
As for a take on the
game — some are hyping it as the Joe Bowl — Montana appears to be leaning upon the hoary maxim that defense wins championships.
“I think the two best teams got in there,” he said. “San Francisco is pretty sound. They’re an old-school team that runs the ball. They’ve got a great defense. When you look at Kansas City, their defense has improved over the weeks, but their offense is crazy. Patrick Mahomes isn’t somebody where you say, ‘I want to make him move in the pocket.’ ” Montana said. “Well, I’m not sure you want to do that. He’s one of those guys that’s pretty special and tough to defend. He’s going to make plays somehow, some way.”
• Frank Gore hasn’t played with the 49ers in five years but the beloved running back is among San Francisco’s biggest supporters as it returns to the Super Bowl for the first time in seven years.
Gore, a fan favorite who was part of the 49ers’ last Super Bowl team, used social media to show his support for former teammate Joe Staley, the only remaining player on the 49ers’ active roster from the heartbreaking 34-31 loss to the Ravens in New Orleans in 2013.
“Could not be happier for my guy @jstaley74 and @49ers,” Gore tweeted Monday, a day after the 49ers beat the Packers 3720 in the NFC championship. “Back to the Super Bowl! Bring that Chip back to the Bay!!”
Gore’s tweet was in response to Staley’s, “Happy to be in this position. One more. Can’t wait to get started. Thanks for all the support. Love this team.”
The 36-year-old Gore, who became the NFL’s third-leading rusher of alltime this season while with the Buffalo Bills, certainly did all he could to help the 49ers win their sixth title in Super Bowl XLVII. He rushed for a game-high 110
yards and a touchdown in the loss.
• This year, the big game will air Feb. 2 on Fox, which unveiled its programming game plan. Their strategy includes more than 100 hours of Super Bowl LIV programming — on Fox, FS1 and Fox Deportes — in the days leading up to the contest. Much of it will be beamed from a huge studio compound on South Beach. On Super Bowl Sunday alone, Fox will televise more than seven hours of pregame programming from three separate locations — at South Beach, as well as inside and outside Hard Rock Stadium.
Joe Buck calls Super Bowl LIV alongside Troy Aikman. The pair call their sixth Super Bowl together – the most for any active broadcasting duo. Erin Andrews and Chris Myers report live from the field.