Mind you, this was back in the day when legends like Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Steve Young, etc. were still in the latter portions of their Niners heydays. Training camp in Rocklin was a star-studded affair, and Salinas had stars in his eyes. "It was a great experience," he said.
Salinas even had the foresight to get all of those 49ers stars to sign a football for him.
What he didn't have was the foresight to keep it.
"I gave the football away to a local Mexican restaurant for free food," laughed Salinas, an unabashed Oakland Raiders fan, which might help explain his youthful disdain for potentially valuable Niners memorabilia.
It might also explain why Salinas is the only area coach among six The Democrat spoke with who both hopes and thinks the Baltimore Ravens will beat the current 49ers today in Super Bowl XVLII. As for the other coaches - Woodland Christian's Bruce Pielstick (football) and Justin Smith (basketball), Pioneer's Matt Bryson (ex-football) and Barry Reese (basketball) and Woodland's Carson Padon (basketball) - most hope and/or expect the 49ers will prevail.
Pielstick betrayed a lean toward the Niners but ultimately remained neutral, noting "It might be the first overtime game
Salinas' lone-wolf stance is somewhat predictable. He is a former linebacker whose coaching focus at Woodland is defense. In veteran middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the Ravens have a player some feel has proved himself to be the best defensive player of his generation.
"I'm not against the Niners ... (but) I love Ray Lewis," Salinas said.
When Lewis announced he was retiring at the end of the season, his story became one of the focal points of the NFL playoffs. Another focal point is 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the second-year former backup from the University of Nevada who replaced Alex Smith at midseason and used his multidimensional skills to become a star.
Kaepernick's presence operating out of The Pistol formation is a major reason why both Pielstick and Bryson are intrigued by Super Bowl XLVII.
"Obviously Colin Kaepernick just is incredible. That guy could be an Olympic athlete if he worked at it. He is the new wave of quarterback," Pielstick said.
"The thing that he has, he never did The Pistol until he went to Nevada. Now he's been doing it for six years. Nobody else has been doing it for six years. So he's way ahead of everybody else."
Bryson, who also coached baseball at both Pioneer and Woodland for a spell, never coached against Kaepernick, a graduate of Pitman High in Turlock, in either sport. But Bryson attended a football coaching clinic at Pitman given by one of Kaepernick's coaches and has heard stories about the 6-foot-4-inch athlete's football skills and baseball pitching prowess for years.
"It's hard to believe you've got a 6-4, 6-5 guy who goes 90 plus (miles per hour) off the mound, plays quaterback, yet there's only one scholarship available," said Bryson, referring to the fact Nevada was the only college to offer Kaepernick a football scholarship.
"And the stories you read say he only got that offer because a scout saw how hard he competed in basketball. Now he's the QB for the damn Niners in the Super Bowl."
The remaining local coaches are knee deep in their team's basketball seasons but still at least somewhat interested in Super Sunday. Reese initially feigned ignorance about football ("They play with that ball that's not round, right?") then copped to an allegiance foreign to most Northern Californians ("I'm a Cowboys fan. I'm used to pain") before offering a game assessment.
"I figure the 49ers with Kaepernick might be able to eek it out," he said. "I probably won't even watch it. But if I had a few dollars to throw down, I'd put them down on the 49ers."
"Niners, baby! I'm a Niners guy through and through," said Padon, who is eager to see his favorite team get a record-tying sixth Super Bowl victory. "I have a cousin who is a (Pittsburgh) Steelers fan and he keeps letting me know they're the only ones in the six-rings club."
Woodland Christian's Smith believes the 49ers have "more talent at pretty much every position except kicker and kick returner," a thought that echoes one of Bryson's. And in thinking the San Franciscans will win by three, Smith pretty much agrees with the Las Vegas betting line, which has favored the 49ers by anywhere from 3.5 to 4.5 points.
But don't expect Smith to lay down any bets on the game. A straight shooter, Smith expects to watch Super Bowl XVLII with other Woodland Christian coaches at a gathering that won't feature refreshments any stronger than nachos and root beer.
"That's how we roll at Woodland Christian," Smith chuckled.
That's how they roll on a Super Bowl Sunday Northern Californians won't soon forget.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Woodland coaches think San Francisco 49ers will win Super Bowl over ... - Daily Democrat
Dengan url
http://goartikelasik.blogspot.com/2013/02/woodland-coaches-think-san-francisco.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Woodland coaches think San Francisco 49ers will win Super Bowl over ... - Daily Democrat
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Woodland coaches think San Francisco 49ers will win Super Bowl over ... - Daily Democrat
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar