What did 49ers do with those gloriously muddy uniforms?
SANTA CLARA >> Not all of the 49ers’ heroes were in muddy uniforms after beating Washington last Sunday.
Equipment manager Jay Brunetti and his staff were clean, but busy. They packed those wet and soiled uniforms for the flight back home and, upon return to team headquarters, they began washing, drying, sorting, folding and stacking the gear.
And that was just the first half of action.
The second half for Brunetti and his crew was preparing for today, when the 49ers will wear the allwhite, 1994-era throwback jerseys for their game against the Carolina Panthers.
“It’s part of the job, and we’ve got a great staff with a bunch of grinders that really enjoy what they do,” said Brunetti, who is in his third season on the job. “It makes it so much easier for us to manage the carnage that we had after that game.”
In the wake of “Mud Bowl 2019” — as aptly named by cornerback Richard Sherman — several 49ers fans hit up my weekly mailbag asking how the 49ers cleaned after themselves. Hey, who among us wasn’t let into our house until we ditched our clothes in the garage or washroom after a fun-filled mud football game?
There’s more to it than just stuffing the gloriously dirty jerseys into one of the 40 trunks or heavy-duty bags that get loaded onto the team charter back to the Bay Area.
So, to answer such questions, Brunetti welcomed me into the 49ers equipment room. There, inside a swag-filled cocoon, his assistants busily prepared for this week’s game, from Doc Dressler sifting through shoe boxes to Jeff Gilbert turning a screwdriver into a facemask to Robert Lloyd shuttling about as more staff and players came and went.
QUESTION >> What did you do with all that muddy gear and equipment after the 20-9, rain-soaked win over Washington? BRUNETTI >> “Clearly when we’re heading out and setting up in Washington, we can be organized and have everything packed nice and neat. But afterward, we just have to get the stuff back here. It’s a little bit of chaos but it doesn’t matter if things get mixed up. Everything is numbered or has a nametag or initials. Everything has to be cleaned.”
Q>> How badly did everything smell once you unpacked it here, at the 49ers facility in Santa Clara? BRUNETTI >> “It wasn’t too bad because we don’t let anything sit. We landed about 9:30 p.m., the truck got here at 10:30, we got the trunks and bags off, unloaded immediately, washed immediately, then took the shoulder pads and travel bags and aired them out. Anything we can wash, we wash, sometimes twice.”
(SIDEBAR >> Helmets, shoulder pads and travel bags don’t go through the 49ers’ commercial-grade, hotellike washing machines but they’re hit with an ozone machine to eradicate bacteria. The trunks are wheeled outside and air dried for at least four hours in, as Brunetti said, “the beautiful California weather.”)
Q >> Did any players want to keep their muddy jerseys as a Mud Bowl 2019 keepsake? BRUNETTI >> “A couple guys keep their jersey every game, so I can’t say they looked at this as anything special.”
(SIDEBAR >> Brunetti estimated that eight players typically swap jerseys with an opponent after the game, and they’re charged the jersey’s cost. He didn’t complain about this, but it’s worth noting new jerseys require the 49ers staff to tailor new ones, such as customized wishes for shorter sleeves, a tapered belly area or a ‘V’ in the back.) (SIDEBAR II >> “The best jersey given out was Adrian Peterson’s jersey. Jeff Wilson got that one. So that’s legendary,” wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said of Sunday’s exchanges.)
Q >> How did the cleats survive Washington’s quagmire of a field? BRUNETTI >> “Believe it or not, we washed the cleats and they clean up fine.
We put them on shoe dryers for 48 hours and they came out real well.” (Note: Players typically pack two to three pairs, and the staff is equipped if they prefer molded or detached/screwon cleats, and most opted for the longer, detached cleats at Washington.)
Q>> So how straining is it preparing now for a throwback-uniform game? (Historical note: The 1994 championship-season jerseys paid homage to the 1955 team.)
BRUNETTI >> “Nike does a great job for us and does the heavy lifting. We turned a roster in (last month) and they built the jersey. They’re not just our white jersey (like last Sunday’s road uniform). They have an additional stripe on the sleeve so they’re a special jersey from that ’94 era. And they stitch the shadow number on the chest and back.”
Q>> And what about a lateaddition like wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders’ arrival Wednesday?
BRUNETTI >> “We have a nameplate for him. We have a (No.) 17 jersey. He did a fitting today with my assistant, Doc. They’ll put his name on it, and he’ll be good to go, and they’ll look great Sunday afternoon.”