San Francisco 49ers fans of a certain age will never forget the NFC Championship game against the New York Giants. If you were born in this millennium, probably between 2000 and 2005, and were raised as a Niners fans, that game was the heartbreak that started it all.
Now, former Niners wide receiver Kyle Williams, the guy at the center of that loss, has been more willing to speak out about the low point in his NFL career.
Williams has made the rounds on podcasts and radio as of late, and there was a particularly poignant conversation he had with linebacker Patrick Willis and safety Donte Whitner, two guys who were veterans on that San Francisco team and could taste a Super Bowl appearance.
Unfortunately, Williams muffed two crucial punts in that contest that were recovered by the Giants, and New York went on to win the game and eventually the Super Bowl.
It’s clear that it still affects Williams as he told Willis and Whitner, "This is going to be something that I die with. You know what I'm saying? Because it's never going to not hurt."
He went on to say that he felt the whole world was against him, and 49ers fans at the time were furious with the young receiver. The ASU product did note that Willis was right there for him after the game and said he would have his back 100 out of 100 times out there, which must have meant a lot coming from the most respected player on that team.
For an 11-year-old fan like myself, it did feel like the world had ended after that game. My father consoled me and tried to explain to me that losses like this happen, but I wasn’t having it. Some 14 years later now, I understand that that was just the beginning of the heartbreak era for the 49ers.
The following two seasons ended with a heartbreaking loss in the Super Bowl and a gut-punch loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game the following year.
The heartbreak did not end with the Jim Harbaugh era, though.
After Kyle Shanahan was hired and got the Niners back to a place of respectability and contention, two more Super Bowl losses and two NFC Championship game defeats ensued with no rings to show for it.
Heartbreak is part of being a sports fan, and Williams helped me learn that lesson back in 2012. It’s nice to hear him talk about it now with the benefit of perspective, and at least Niners fans now have a litany of “what if” moments to look back on so his can sort of blend in with all the rest.