A Good Time

The skies cleared on Sunday afternoon, so attending my first professional football game at Monster Park wasn’t a totally miserable experience. Although both the 49ers and Packers were struggling this year---both were well under .500—the game had two things going for it: an opportunity to see Packers quarterback Bret Favre in his likely last San Francisco appearance and the chance to witness a victory by the Niners, who were favored by 4 points.

The last time I had attended a 49ers game the stadium was named Candlestick, Joe Montana was the quarterback and there was a baseball diamond at one end of the field. Everything’s changed, including the quality of the play. The Niners made critical turnovers and spotted the Pack a 17-3 lead. Hopes rose when the home team closed the margin to 17-13, but mistakes sealed the loss, and the final score of 30-19 was a fair representation of each team’s play.

Bret Favre's (#4's) TD pass attempt was batted down.

Bret Favre missed a few open receivers but flashed the skills that will land him in the Hall of Fame. His arm still rocketed the ball, and on other occasions he delicately dropped a soft pitch over the defenders into his receivers’ waiting hands. We were sitting in the upper deck surrounded by Green Bay fans wearing their yellow-wedged headgear, and this afternoon the Cheeseheads had a lot to cheer about. That’s San Francisco---always showing the visitors a good time. © 2006 Stephen Yuen

If you were a cheese, you didn't have to stand alone.