There were lots of reasons to be cheerful about the San Francisco 49ers' Sunday win over the Cleveland Browns.
It continued the Niners' recent winning streak (lifting the record to 9-4) while, coupled with results from elsewhere, raised their chances of qualifying for this year's playoffs.
It was also a gritty win in challenging conditions for a young and improving team under head coach Kyle Shanahan, who has certainly gotten the most out of a banged-up and injury-depleted squad this season. It'd be hard not to smile after that.
One of the biggest reasons to be cheerful, however, is the win on the road in the Rust Belt finally nailed an unwanted 49ers record that's lasted more than four decades: San Francisco failing to win in Cleveland.
Now, granted, there's a decent chunk of time where the Browns didn't exist to play the Niners, and in any case, the NFL's scheduling means the two sides were playing only their fifth encounter in Cleveland in that timeframe.
But it's still a peculiar stat.
On Nov. 11, 1984, with Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh's team at the peak of its powers, the 49ers hammered the Browns at Cleveland Stadium, delivering a 41-7 pasting behind three rushing touchdowns (shared two to one between Roger Craig and Bill Ring) and two Joe Montana touchdown throws to wide receiver Freddie Solomon.
Sidenote: Roger Craig should be in the Hall Of Fame. Get to it, NFL.
Yep, it was indeed that long ago.
For context, Ronald Reagan had just defeated Walter Mondale to earn his second presidential term, Band Aid were gearing up to record a charity single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to combat the Ethiopean famine, and Billy Ocean's "Caribbean Queen" topped the Billboard Hot 100. Sorry, older fans. The pages forever go flying off the calendar.
Since then, various atrocious defeats have been foisted on the Niners at the altar of Cleveland, including 2023's Jake Moody-inspired 19-17 loss, an execrable season-ending 20-7 loss in 2007 (notable, I suppose, for being the only game quarterback Chris Weinke started for San Francisco), and most infamously, a Week 14 loss to Johnny Manziel in the lost Jim Tomsula-led 2015 season.
Suffice it to say, being in Ohio hasn't been particularly kind to San Francisco. Whether it's the early start time, the often-terrible conditions, or simply the weight of expectation at beating one of the NFL's most disaster-stricken franchises, the 49ers have rarely risen to the occasion when the Red and Gold have landed in the Forest City.
That made Sunday's ground-out win all the more sweet. Not only did Shanahan and the Nienrs help to position themselves in the playoff picture, but they shook off an old spectre that's dogged them for many years. Other narratives, like quarterback Brock Purdy's issues with the weather and Shedeur Sanders' feted potential, may have also died on Sunday afternoon in the freezing Cleveland weather.
All of that seems like good news for the 49ers, and it's something to carry into the future. After all, it's unlikely that fans of the 1984 Niners team thought they'd have to wait 41 years before seeing another win in Cleveland.
Hopefully, this generation of fans doesn't have to wait as long.
I don't want to be writing on Niner Noise about our first win in Cleveland for many years in my 70s, after all.