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PART III : SAN FRANCISCO |
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San Francisco! We flew into the city by the bay Thursday from New Orleans to give us all a couple days preparation for our unique "Bay Day Doubleheader". Although we have done games in the Bay Area before we never have been able to attempt this stunt before! |
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So a little sightseeing first, and where better to start than "The Rock". That's Alcatraz, and not the WWF wrestler. We did one of the night tours out there which we highly recommend. The Park Rangers give great background to this crumbling monument. Plus at night there's a real eerieness to it and when that wind whips in boy does it get cold! No sign of any Raider fans out here though ... |
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We always like to take in some ballparks too when we have some spare time, so Pac Bell Park was calling! It is a beautiful facility, in a great downtown spot (why can't the Niners sort themselves out like this?), with historical moments already (see Bonds, Barry). It had a kiddie playpen open to the public so naturally we went in and played some softball! |
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This is the obligatoryPier 39 shot of the seals. All our other old SF haunts were intact too. Our 2 favourites are just off Union Square - Lefty O'Doulls for breakfast and The London Sports Bar (now called the San Francisco Sports Bar) to round out an evening.
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What better way than to do the "Day Doubleheader" than to do it via a stretch limo! We had hired one of these babies out for the day to transport our party to the games (that swelled to as many as 10 folk). Now what's that in our hands? It couldn't be ... could it? Wd hire
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Yes it was cans of Coors Light! Front Office had secured a deal with the Claymores sponsor to get us specially liquored for the game! Sadly this wasn't true. We instead had to pull up at some non discript mall in the limo and dash into the nearest supermarket for a box of booze, & a couple of bottles of champagne too! (Warning : kilts and dashing out of limos don't mix) |
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Just in case you hadn't seen the inside of one of these babies here it is! Me and Shuggie are at the back with Blinky, and pictured are H, Jac, FO, Dom and Debbie. On the other side (not pictured) was a TV and of course the mini bar, although there wasn't anything mini about it! |
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Of course give us a limo, and 1 hour later we're not satisfied! Can you say Cheddarcruiser for 2002? In 1997, we had attempted to 'touch' the famous Madden Cruiser at this same spot, and almost got gunned down by security for daring to do this. This year - no such problems!
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Eventually the rain stopped just before game time, and the sun broke through for kickoff. However the field was still a sloppy mess. Both teams offenses looked sluggish and this was pretty much a defensive struggle with the score tied at 3-3 at half-time after both teams settled for short field goals after decent drives. |
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This was one of the few Garrison Hearst jerseys we spotted all weekend. Sadly it was being worn by the man himself and not available for purchase. Due to Adidas pulling out next year, 49ers shirts were in short supply in the Bay Area with #20's being the equivalent of gold dust. This caused much frustration among our Red & Gold shoppers! |
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Once again there was a prominent ex Claymore in the game, in Eagles FB Jamie Reader. Jamie was part of our 1999 offense that included other NFL graduates, like Craig, Murphy, Sims and Stokes. NFLE fact: David Akers was kicking for the Eagles (good job!), meaning that in one week we had seen all the ex NFLE Pro Bowlers for 2001 (Warner & Glover were the other 2). |
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Mike Caldwell takes down Jeff Garcia for a sack in the 3rd quarter. Garcia was extremely doubtful for the game with bruised ribs, but this was one of the few times the Eagles laid a glove on him. This drive lead to another FG from ex-Admiral Jose Cortez and gave SF a 6-3 lead. |
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Then the Eagles came knocking on the door midway through the 4th quarter looking for the go ahead score.
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However 2 passes and this Duce Staley leap failed to bring paydirt and coach Andy Reid decided to gamble for it on 4th down! Surely a QB sneak? |
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Nope! McNabb rolled right but nothing was doing and LB Derek Smith (#50) tackled him short of the goal line. But a holding call on Lance Schulters put the ball back on the 1 yard line and gave the Eagles 4 more cracks! Two more Duce runs netted naught, and then McNabb dropped back on 3rd and goal ... |
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He looks for Chad Lewis, but hasn't spotted Smith standing in the end zone who makes an easy interception to stop the drive! The game turns as 7 plays later, a Garcia to Owens TD wraps the game up. The Eagles don't look like the team that will go deep into the postseason ... |
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FINAL 49ers 13 EAGLES 3 MVP: 49ers LB Derek Smith (7 tackles, 1 sack and game saving INT). OK game over in 2 hours 58 mins - great! No for the fun bit. Getting the limo to dodge stadium traffic and get across the bay in 60 minutes for kickoff of the Raiders-Titans game! Will we make it ??? |
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