Anyone else feel like this?

Originally posted by Young2Owens:
My belief and confidence in this team is so high that it scares me. Like, I'm afraid to fall in love with this team. I take more comfort in teams that are underdogs. I want to believe that this is the squad that will finally get the job done but I don't want to be let down.

In years past I would get so hyped up and get so devastated when we lost. When we lost the SB against the Ravens, I was severely depressed for 3 weeks. Same when we lost the following year to Seattle. In recent years I've handled disappointing losses a little better but I would be lying if I said I wasn't affected.

As we approach the more dramatic phases of the season, I'm going to take action to look after my mental health. Trying to balance my attention between Niner content and my other hobbies, so that my mental energy isn't so locked in to Niner football. What strategies do you guys use to not get so high or low?

If you're scared go to church 🤣

NFL is rigged anyway, just enjoy the ride 👍

Two entirely different eras, but yes this is the closest I've felt to that feeling (Niners head & shoulders above everyone else, and it's not even close) since those latter dynasty years and specifically that '94 season. '94 was the nascent, infancy year of the salary cap and free agency, where an established powerhouse team like the Niners could stockpile talent and depth to absorb injuries throughout a season—so long as no one big went down (that team's main injuries that year were along the OL early on, before they finally gelled and DL Richard Dent, whose loss was offset by signing Deion and the emergence of rookies Bryant Young and Lee Woodall). No team nowadays can even dream of such depth since the more matured salary cap and free agency makes it so hard to amass a collection of core, dynasty players, a plethora of FA hired guns and solid depth pieces via FA and the draft. Parity has leveled the talent pool on all teams nowadays, where a greater reliance on avoiding major injuries is paramount to maintaining success.

Apart from not losing again after the Philly 40-8 blowout (other than the final game against the Vikings, when all the starters rested,) the real turning point was the narrow 21-14 win at home against Dallas, when the Niners finally got the bugbear of not being able to beat them off their backs. From that point, the Niners had the edge to get homefield advantage and the Cowboys were playing catchup. That's what Sunday's win against Philly feels like—even though we're still a game behind them, now the Niners have the mental edge and Philly's confidence is shaken. Once this year's Niners get that #1 seed, they gotta step on the gas and not look back till HFA is secured for the playoffs, since they have head-to-head tie-breakers against Philly and Dallas and I believe conference tie-breake against Detroit.

Tied in to all this is the different eras of NFC-W foes the Niners had to face vs today. Early to mid-90's it was relatively weak teams of Saints, Falcons and Rams (Saints were the consistently strongest of the bunch) whom the Niners regularly curbstomped. Not that they were all dogs who laid down—early in the games they usually put up a fight, before the juggernaut Niners offense dropped 30-40+ points on them. What diffentiated that division was there wasn't an annoying-ass team like the Seahawks who were constantly a thorn in the Niners' side and a menace to inflict some catastrophic injury to derail a Niners Super Bowl run. Here's a list of what Seattle has done since 2011, often seemingly minor, but the ripple effect had major implications down the road that prevented a successful 49ers winning Super Bowl campaign:

2011: Seattle injured both Delanie Walker and Ted Ginn in their finale meeting up in Seattle. The latter took away the Niners best punt returner for the playoffs. Who fumbled away the NFCCG against the Giants? Backup PR Kyle Williams.

2012: Seattle effectively ended Mario Manningham's career in that 42-17 massacre late in December. A solid WR with Super Bowl experience who probably would've made crucial catches in the Super Bowl against Baltimore, perhaps would've been the corner-route WR on that infamous goal line situation instead of Crabtree.

2013: this was more the ref's fault for that BS rouging the passer call against Brooks vs the Saints…cost the Niners a game that led to Seattle getting HFA in the playoffs (and no final playoff game @ Candlestick)—but we all know how that NFCCG loss pretty much spelled the doom for the Harbaugh era from then on out. Pretty much destroyed Navorro Bowman's career and classlessly poured popcorn on him as he was carted off.

2019: Even though the LOB was gone, Seattle with Russell Wilson was still a bugbear that ruined the Niners' undefeated streak (backup Niners kicker notwithstanding). Niners weren't able to clinch HFA and the #1 seed till the very last game, thus denying some rest that might've helped in the playoff push towards the Super Bowl.

So this next week, the Niners have to once and for all crush Seattle at home and avoid any major injuries playing them. Send Pete Caroll and his annoying team into the Void. After that, the last major test is Christmas Day against Baltimore, (which might even be a SB preview) and the last primetime regular season game (barring a flex of the Niners-Rams season finale) to showcase the Niners powerhouse on national TV. Win that, and the remainder of the season (Cards game in Arizona will be Purdy's homecoming, so expect a big Niners fan showing), and if/when the Niners clinch HFA and the #1 seed, then we can revisit this thread and gauge how we all feel…

The theme of the thread isn't whether this team is good enough, it's that the OP was hesitant to be emotionally invested because he was taking losses so hard.

No Super Bowl winning team has been perfect for 51 years and nowadays, even a perfect season doesn't guarantee a Lombardi in February. Losses, some (not major) injuries here and there, and adversity are what make a successful SB-campaign truly all the more sweeter in the end. You don't cakewalk from the Shire to Mordor and back with singing fairies and rainbows the whole way—losing something/someone along the way, learning from the experience and in the end accomplishing the goal you set out to do are what make it all worth it in the end.

edit: we as fans aren't even playing the dang sport, just sitting on our butts and watching it. just sit back and enjoy what we can for as long as it lasts…come what may.

Hope I can help. While watching "the catch" game with my cousin, I developed a headache because I was SO into the game because of the Niners being so close to exorcising the Cowboy demons. My cousin explained to me that being so intense about "ENTERTAINMENT" is going to hurt me. He went on to explain that men have a tendency to live vicariously through our sports, not so much because of the team, but because, especially in football, it is a "macho" sport. These sports leagues are an exclusive club. You and I would love to be out on the field or court competing. But we're not. So, we throw our hearts and souls into the commitment to our teams. If you can understand that this is entertainment, it may become more so than a life sustaining necessity

f**k a under dog. That's loser mentality. We gonna walk it and talk it all the to #6

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
its just another Tuesday

I feel the same as you. It's just another Tuesday, and there is a very tough team coming to town. Pete Carroll has a long history of sticking the 49ers with gut wrenching losses. He knows how to do it. He's done it before. The ol' gum chewer would love to stick a wrench into the Red and Gold Machine. A blown gasket is high up on his list of priorities.

Originally posted by billbird2111:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
its just another Tuesday

I feel the same as you. It's just another Tuesday, and there is a very tough team coming to town. Pete Carroll has a long history of sticking the 49ers with gut wrenching losses. He knows how to do it. He's done it before. The ol' gum chewer would love to stick a wrench into the Red and Gold Machine. A blown gasket is high up on his list of priorities.

4sho. Can't take these dudes lightly ever. We see how they came out and played after beating the Cowboys. Let's see how they handle all this love. I think they win 27-17.

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by billbird2111:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
its just another Tuesday

I feel the same as you. It's just another Tuesday, and there is a very tough team coming to town. Pete Carroll has a long history of sticking the 49ers with gut wrenching losses. He knows how to do it. He's done it before. The ol' gum chewer would love to stick a wrench into the Red and Gold Machine. A blown gasket is high up on his list of priorities.

4sho. Can't take these dudes lightly ever. We see how they came out and played after beating the Cowboys. Let's see how they handle all this love. I think they win 27-17.

At the same time, there's another huge storyline that will play out in Dallas this Sunday. Everyone thinks the Eagles will be out for revenge after getting stomped by the 49ers. I don't think so. I think the Cowboys are like sharks that smell blood in the water. Last year's Eagles team was far tougher than this year's squad, and Dallas still stomped those barf green meanies into the turf at Jerry's house. The Eagles haven't won in that house of horrors for a long time.

Originally posted by billbird2111:

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by billbird2111:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
its just another Tuesday

I feel the same as you. It's just another Tuesday, and there is a very tough team coming to town. Pete Carroll has a long history of sticking the 49ers with gut wrenching losses. He knows how to do it. He's done it before. The ol' gum chewer would love to stick a wrench into the Red and Gold Machine. A blown gasket is high up on his list of priorities.

4sho. Can't take these dudes lightly ever. We see how they came out and played after beating the Cowboys. Let's see how they handle all this love. I think they win 27-17.

At the same time, there's another huge storyline that will play out in Dallas this Sunday. Everyone thinks the Eagles will be out for revenge after getting stomped by the 49ers. I don't think so. I think the Cowboys are like sharks that smell blood in the water. Last year's Eagles team was far tougher than this year's squad, and Dallas still stomped those barf green meanies into the turf at Jerry's house. The Eagles haven't won in that house of horrors for a long time.

I see this too. I also think Eagles drop the one after that to the Seahawks.

You guys suck at following the thread topic.

Originally posted by thl408:
You guys suck at following the thread topic.

Lol. Football analysis hat off. Therapist hat on.

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:

Originally posted by thl408:
You guys suck at following the thread topic.

Lol. Football analysis hat off. Therapist hat on.

lol . It's a very different topic than what usually gets posted in NinerTalk so I think it's a cool thread. OP brings up a legit topic about how being emotionally invested is good and bad. Some folks deal with losses really hard, and imo, it's good to be able to step back and realize entertainment is supposed to be fun.

Originally posted by thl408:
lol . It's a very different topic than what usually gets posted in NinerTalk so I think it's a cool thread. OP brings up a legit topic about how being emotionally invested is good and bad. Some folks deal with losses really hard, and imo, it's good to be able to step back and realize entertainment is supposed to be fun.

Agree 100 percent. For me, it's really about enjoying the season long journey and all the thrills that come along with it… especially as a fan of a contender. Win or lose, it's not long before I'm getting prepped to enjoy the next year of it.