The San Francisco 49ers' first win of the Kyle Shanahan regime came nearly two weeks after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo arrived via a trade. That victory over the New York Giants gave San Francisco a 1-9 record, but you would have thought the team had just won the Super Bowl by the way the coaches and players were celebrating in the locker room.
"It was different to me; I'm not going to lie," Garoppolo told reporters on Thursday when asked to reflect on that win.
For Garoppolo, it was unfamiliar territory. He had come from an organization — the New England Patriots — where winning was the norm. Now, he was on a 49ers team trying to find its footing in the NFL landscape.
It was a strange sight.
"It seemed like a normal regular-season game, and I can remember we were throwing water in the locker (room), boomboxes were going, everything," Garoppolo said.
Eventually, the quarterback understood why it was such an emotional moment. He may not have known the names of everyone he was celebrating with, but he started to understand.
"It was the accumulation of that whole year, I think," Garoppolo said. "Just everything those guys had been through before that. I mean, I wasn't there for all of it but you could see it. So to get that first win, it was so much emotion coming out of everyone.
"It was real. And that was the first thing I saw with this team when I first got here. Everyone was very honest and real, and genuine. That's where it all starts, and that's what makes us a good team."
Garoppolo, of course, got his first start two weeks later and rattled off five consecutive wins to end the season. The 49ers finished with a 6-10 record and became a trendy offseason pick to turn things around the next year.
"If you want to get people excited about a 6-10 year, just start 0-9," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Then, everyone is real excited going into the offseason."
Shanahan remembers that game and what it meant to his team. He wanted to get that first win as quickly as possible to relieve some of the pressure of being a rookie head coach. Shanahan didn't expect to have to wait until November 12 to get it, though.
Maybe that's what made it more special — the wait.
"We were pumped," Shanahan said. "Our players, we were fighting every week, all of our guys. It wasn't just me. It was everybody. We had a lot of guys, it was their first year in the league; a lot of guys who hadn't played much, and we put a lot into every week, and we came up short a ton.
"We won that game, and it felt huge. I remember we lost the next game, so we probably did enjoy it a little too much. You learn from those lessons."
Now, in his third season, Shanahan has his 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, where they will play the Kansas City Chiefs. Garoppolo is 21-5 as the 49ers' starting quarterback, including the two playoff wins.
On Sunday, they may be able to celebrate just as they did on that November 12 afternoon. Except this time, it will be because they really are the Super Bowl champions.
