While former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold will be playing in the Super Bowl, not many Niner fans will be cheering for him since he now sports the dreaded blue and green of the Seattle Seahawks.
Still, Darnold's time in San Francisco was a big part of the reason for his success, and legendary 49ers quarterback Steve Young made sure the record is clear on that.
He was asked about Darnold at the premiere of the new Niners documentary coming out soon, Rise of the 49ers, and had the following to say about Darnold:
"Quarterbacks need tons of help to allow you to go show how great you can be. If you do not get that help, you are limited in how great you can be. And there are not 32 places in the league today that can give you that help. The skies parted when he came to San Francisco."
It's true that Darnold's one-year stint with the 49ers changed a lot. He went from playing for bad franchises like the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers to a perennial NFC contender in San Francisco.
Learning and playing within head coach Kyle Shanahan's intricate offense helped him level up his game and get a better understanding for what is going on on the field.
Darnold saw limited action that season, but he looked solid when he was out there. He also reminded everyone that the upcoming Super Bowl is not his first rodeo as he was Brock Purdy's backup a few years ago in Las Vegas.
The USC product has also been candid about the fact that Purdy played a huge role in his development. Purdy has talked about how he views himself as more of a point guard who distributes the ball to his playmakers.
That mentality was a revelation for Darnold who had previously been trying to do too much and felt like the game was squarely on his shoulders.
He realized that by relying on the talent around him and trying to limit mistakes it produced a pretty successful brand of football that can win a lot of games. He has won 14 regular-season games each of the last two seasons, so he has clearly found something that works.
But Young is right to remind everyone, especially Seahawk fans, that Darnold's brief time in San Francisco is the reason he has had this mid-career renaissance after it seemed like he was a bust.
Don't expect Seahawks fans to be thanking the Niners if Seattle comes out on top in the Super Bowl, though.