The stakes were HUGE for the 2011 Battle of the Bay. While others downplayed this as a preseason matchup of two teams bravely trying to reach mediocrity, the destiny of an unborn child was going to be determined by the outcome of this epic gridiron duel.
The outcome of this game would determine whether Baby G (due any day now) would first wear 49er Red or Raider Silver and Black. If this were a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, you could say “so what – the kid’s in Florida and everyone knows that he’s destined to grow up not knowing how to punch a ballot”. But this was the Oakland Raiders v. San Francisco 49ers. It was Mom v. Dad.
Stop and think about that. This wager, this simple act, would cast the fate of one human being. This would be the difference between a fine education or finishing third grade. CEO or PFN (Prisoner File Number). Owning a sail or paying a bail. Refinancing a home for a successful startup or mortgaging everything for season tickets. Boardroom fights or barroom brawls. Merlot and cheese or Ripple and fleas.
The tension was nearly unbearable. The gathered crowd understood that Baby G was in the hands of Alex Smith and Jason Campbell. No child deserved that, but this was the hand that he was dealt and it had to be played. With the game still in doubt late in the fourth quarter, the forces of good united against third string QB Kyle Boller, the former Cal quarterback who was once a first round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, but has since fallen far into the dark soul-sucking pit called Raider Nation. A local boy gone bad. But that would not be the course set for Baby G. Good triumphed over evil. Well, perhaps that’s an overstatement. A bad football team triumphed over a worse football team. 49ers 17 Raiders 3. Another child saved.