Two storied franchises will face off for the NFC title on Sunday. But until recently, one of them would have hardly known about its own decorated past.
That's changed in the past few years. The 49ers, under the leadership of coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, have made it a point to not only push the franchise forward but revere its history, too.
For the guys who won those Super Bowls and gold jackets in the past, it's nice to be back.
"It's an embracing of the past," Hall of Famer and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Steve Young told ESPN (for whom he is an analyst) about players such as himself, Jerry Rice and others being brought in to be part of this year's team, whether it be for pregame speeches or some fun on the practice field. "I think they can use it as a tool and sometimes a weapon. I feel completely affiliated with these 49ers. For many years, I didn't ... This is certainly recognizing that we're gonna build off of our history, which is smart. We should."
The 49ers will face the Packers on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, and certainly it is difficult to go title-for-title with Green Bay. The 49ers have five Lombardi Trophies, but the Packers had Lombardi.
But the heroes who made the Packers great aren't around much these days. They're certainly not running routes on the field with the current players the way Rice has been known to do. There is more immediacy to the 49ers' legacy, which makes it more real to the coaches and players.
Even one in particular on the Packers.
"I usually dreamed about playing for the 49ers as a kid," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said recently when asked if he grew up in Northern California imagining his current situation _ a chance to reach the Super Bowl by beating them. "Obviously, that thing passed a long time ago. But I do remember some great games over the years between the 49ers and the Packers, including one in this situation."
That would be the 1997 NFC Championship Game, in which the Packers beat the 49ers, 23-10, in San Francisco.
Current 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was 2 { months old at that time, but he's earned an appreciation for his team's past.
"I mean, just having guys around like Jerry Rice just messing around before games with our receivers, that's not a normal thing," Bosa said. "You just walk around the facility, you see the Super Bowls. You see the past players. After the game, I was having dinner at a restaurant here and just seeing a bunch of people that you would never expect to be a 49ers fan and they are just here because the brand is so global. It's really cool. It's really cool to be a part of."
Especially if you grew up watching the 49ers dynasty of the 1980s. As Shanahan did, not just as a fan but as a ballboy with his father, Mike Shanahan, on the staff.
"I think it helps with the age I'm at," Shanahan said. "I was born in '79, so I remember the Niners throughout the '80s growing up and I was here with my dad in '94, where they won that Super Bowl. I think just being around it, I knew exactly how special it was. But I think people from my generation, also, when they think of teams, the big-time teams, it was the Niners, the Cowboys, in baseball you've got the Yankees and the Red Sox, and from growing up for me, basketball, it was always the Bulls. I think you have those teams, and that's what the Niners have always been."
There obviously are differences between those champion 49ers and this group. For starters, the current players haven't won anything yet. The 49ers haven't been to a Super Bowl since the 2012 season, when they lost to the Ravens. Their last win there was after the 1994 season.
"You know, there have been a few down years since '12 or whenever it was, but that does happen, too," Shanahan said. "We knew we had to build this up and get back here, but we knew how good of an organization it was. When you do have a good organization, usually those tough times don't last if you can just stay the course and be a little bit patient."
They don't even play in the same city anymore, the franchise having moved its home from Candlestick Park in San Francisco to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. Which is why, even though they enjoy being welcomed back, the old-timers try hard not to get in the way of the newer version of the team.
"Our legacy was in Candlestick Park," Rice said before last week's divisional-round home game. "This is their legacy now. It's all about these guys and the mark that they want to put on Levi's Stadium. And I'm sure that they're raring to go."
One team will leave that building Sunday with a chance to add to its already substantial trophy case.
The 49ers have made certain that they'll appreciate that link to history if it's them.
