By Sid Saraf, FOXSports.com We’re back! Welcome to Volume XL of Mail-it-in Friday. I’m all fired up and ready to go after a couple days of ducking threats from irate 49ers fans. But my reflexes are sharp and more importantly, you dear readers have a lot to say. So, let’s get in the pool already. Remember, if you want your email featured here, send your missives to lacesoutmail@gmail.com. OK, let’s get to work!FIGHT ON OUR HANDS We ran a story on Thursday after a pair of 49ers fans named Judy and Rich wrote a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle complaining about the crowd noise in Seattle. Not only do they feel it’s unfair, they compare the loudness to performance enhancing drugs. Well, that set off a firestorm. Mike wrote,Hey Sid, let me tell you something, I hope you go to a game any game it doesn’t matter and you get your ass kicked by some moron fan. The article you wrote about 49er fans is a joke and for you to loop all niners fans in with some old lady that went to Seattle and couldn’t handle the crowd is just pure BS. I’d like to see you stand in front of Candle Stick Park and hold up your lame ass headline that you put on your lame ass story “AWWW, 49ERS FANS ARE SAD OVER ALL THAT SCAWWWY CROWD NOISE” I bet you don’t have the balls to do that, because I can guarantee the next day the headline will be “Sid the pansy got his butt kicked by Scary 49er fan”
Love the passion! Keep bringing it! And “Sid the pansy?” I haven’t been called that since high school. Gary wrote,It is amazing that a team that has the rudest fans of all of the NFL, would complain about fans. We all can’t win, and fan noise has always been a help to the home team, including the 49ers. So stop your crying and get over it. I am a Saints fan and proud of the noise our fans make, and now I am a Seattle fan………………………. Rudest fans in the NFL? Nah, I don’t think so. Every fan base has a douchey segment and the one within 49ers Nation is no worse than any other in the league. But, Gary almost brought up a good point. If certain fans think the noise in Seattle is unfair, what’s to stop them from doing the same in their own stadium? Why not try it? You might be pleased at the results. Michele wrote,Judy and Rich, maybe you should take up golf where silence is welcome. Part of playing at home is the advantage of your fans noise, San Francisco has it when they play at home and if their fans aren’t loud enough maybe you should yell at them instead of saying something as stupid as the NFL should change the rules. I hate stupid people. Michele, you took the words right out of my mouth. John P wrote,I realize that sports "writers" are desperate for attention in a declining market share industry, but at some point a little class might be the way to go. That ridiculously demeaning diatribe, clearly designed to get somebody talking about Sid 'whoever the **** you are' Saraf, more than crossed the line into downright rude. Of course this coward wouldn't have the balls to EVER say anything that smarmy and uncalled for to an actual 9er fan standing in front of him (unless he wanted his nose flattened), much less an actual player (unless he wanted his trachea removed from his person), so, like so many Internet warriors, he hides behind his keyboard, lobbing insults at people he'll never face in real life.Oh well, cowards will be cowards. Everyone understands the journalistic standards of Fox are basically nonexistent.What you're labeling 'whining" is a legitimate issue that this one team has an unnatural advantage in that their stadium is designed to amplify and reflect crowd noise onto the field. A actual "JOURNALIST" might take the opportunity to comment on that, rather than travel down the tabloid road and piss off about 10 million possible customers.Good luck with whatever your next "career" is...John P. Lifelong Niner fan So, your response to a guy who hides behind his keyboard lobbing insults (Me) … was to hide behind your keyboard and lob insults?
Efren wrote,Great article.I'm not a 49er fan, but agree with the letter writer and with you, to a certain extent.Any team that wants to make the playoffs, has to learn to deal with the noise and if they are "intimidated" by going to a stadium for the post-season play, then they should do everything on the field to try to get home field advantage. Having said that, and not sure how one would enforce it, but excessive crowd noise in not only unhealthy, but does give an unfair advantage to the home team. Of course, the best way to beat that "home field advantage" is for the opposing team to come in and "take the crowd" out of it, but even this is hard in some venues, such as Seattle, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Kansas City and how would one enforce the crowd noise level?I think that an opposing team offensive players should be allowed to have speakers inside their helmet when they play away from home when the NFL can show that the decibel level in a particular stadium has exceeded XXX on three previous games from the past season. This could be the opposing visiting teams "12th" man.If the NFL is trying to encourage safety and football as a sport that the whole family can enjoy, then why endanger the hearing, especially of young kids, by treating them to noise that is akin to sitting on top of a jet engine running at full throttle for +2 hours? Health is more then just about how one looks.Please forward this to the NFL Comish for consideration.PS: The fan should have spoken up a lot earlier about this subject as doing it after your team loses, only gives the appearance of "whining" after the game, regardless if the fan makes some valid points. Everyone: Pay attention, please. What you see above is the perfect way to write about an opposing viewpoint without becoming irrational. First, Efren complimented me (always a good start), then he brought up both viewpoints. Now, I still don’t agree with him, but I see his point and have taken it under advisement. Gold star for you, Efren. For your well-reasoned and lovely letter, allow me to present you with The Golf Clap of the Week Award:
Gerardo wrote, Just a comment about your article. I am a devout 49er fan and I totally agree with your comments. We simply got spanked by the Seahawks. Kaepernick and the team could not deal with the noise. If the shoe was on the other foot and the crowd noise was on our side, those fans would not be whining. How do you control crowd noise? PS announcement and a 15 yard penalty for unsportsman-like conduct? Ridiculous. Seattle and Kansas City have a great advantage. I hope that the new Levis’s stadium will play the same way. Exactly, Rico Suave. When the 49ers move into their new digs and it becomes a place where the fans get loud and go crazy, I’m ALL for it. And if some Seattle fans start writing letters and complaining, we’ll all have a laugh at their expense. John wrote,Bravo, Sid...all the noise in Seattle was the fans expressing their joy at a Seahawks game. How do they express their joy in SF? Crocheting? Rubbing their corduroy thighs together? Sheesh, no wonder they're called the Forty Whiners.. Hey, not cool, dude. San Francisco is a great town full of great fans. Let’s not start getting personal.
Alan wrote,The Seahawk Fans are getting way too much credit. The architect who designed the stadium deserves most of the credit as it is the design of the stadium that makes the fans noisier as the shells enclosure on each side amplifies the noise . ( Just like the old Seattle Superdome was before they tore it down ). Put any fans in that stadium and it will still be the loudest. I am a Niner Fan and not complaining, but just stating the facts. Go Niners and we will kick them in their a** when we play them at the Stick and let's see how noisy we can make the new Levi's Stadium next year.Niner Fan Forever That’s right. All the Niners have to do is some get some payback in Week 14. These teams will play again and I’m sure Jim Harbaugh’s boys can’t wait to drill the Seahawks in front of their own (I’m sure rowdy) fans. Go get some! OK, let’s move on shall we? RUSSELL’S DIRTY MOUTH During the 49ers-Seahawks game, Seattle QB Russell Wilson was heard saying “Oh S***!” after an errant snap. I thought it was pretty funny, but apparently, some of you thought I was making some kind of political statement. Colby wrote,Dear writer who I have never heard of,The article you wrote on Russell Wilson saying s*** on live TV is the worst article/blog entry I have ever read. Did you seriously think him saying s*** was worth a page on Fox Sports? What was the motive behind writing one of the most worthless 112 words I have seen? I cannot believe Fox Sports pays you to write! Grow up and try writing about relevant sports news. Keep your PC crap to yourself. You are extremely biased, and I can't believe I wasted my precious time writing you an email about something so useless. I just felt the need since no one else cares what you write.Thanks
Although I’m generally confused right now. I don’t think many people know what the true meaning of “biased” is. It’s like people who use the word “ironic” to often describe things that aren’t ironic at all. Yeesh, moving on. Lauri wrote,I find it very interesting how the sports media gets all over Russell Wilson for dropping a “S” bomb during a play on the field or all of Richard Sherman’s Trash talk. But nothing is said when Curt Menifee during a live national broadcast from Seattle during a pre-season game this year, calls the Seattle Seahawks...the “Seahacks” Where is the apology to the “12th man” for that slip of the tongue. He said “Seahacks?” Are you sure that’s not just Curt’s accent coming into play? It’s kinda like how some people say “tomato” instead of “tom-ah-to.” Just sayin’. THROWBACK? MORE LIKE THROW UPDeVon wrote, Why can’t the NFL just decide when each team wears their throwback before the season starts while making the season schedule? Then fit test each player for a helmet size and then assign each player 2 helmets one for current uniforms and one for throwbacks based on the size of the helmet.
Duh, right? It’s so simple. But that’s not gonna happen. It makes way too much sense for the NFL. Hey, that’s two Amanda Seyfried GIFs in one mailbag! I’m not even a fan! RANDON MUSINGSRobert wrote, Romo and Garrett need to retire. Romo is one of the worst Quaterbacks in the NFL. Every game he proves it by constantly throwing two-three yard passes instead of trying to get a first down for the team. If he has success with his bread and butter Witten, he stops throwing to him. If Bryant tells him to throw him the ball, he does it although Bryant is covered. It’s like Romo doesn’t want the Cowboys to win. And for Garrett, he is the most conservative of all coaches. He refuses to throw long and open up the game. He is the two-three yard pass man. Instead of going for the touchdown, he settles for a field goal every time. He also has his offensive coordinator doing the same.Jerry Jones in my opinion doesn’t really care about Cowboy victories. As long as he fills the stadium and makes the money, he doesn’t care if the Cowboys win. I say this because he keeps the two losers named above. For some odd reason he loves Romo as Quarterback knowing that Orton is much better.I started with the Cowboys from the beginning. It really is embarrassing to see what they have become. I still shake my head over all the Tony Romo hate. All the guy has done is throw for more than 4,000 yards in back-to-back seasons and four times in his career. He has five seasons of throwing 25 or more touchdown passes. But yeah, he sucks. He’s the worst. Oh, and Kyle Orton is much better? Put the pipe down right now and go get help. I don’t want to paint a fan base with a broad brush (shut up, Niners fans) but Cowboys Nation needs to back away from Tony. He’s one of the bigger reasons the Cowboys have been in the playoff conversation over the last couple of years. The running backs are inconsistent and the defense hasn’t been able to stop anyone.
Now, Jason Garrett? Yeah, he’s gotta go at some point. Charles wrote, The magic is simply gone. With a brace showing , our quarter back does not fool other teams any longer. The threat of running missing, he is stationary, does not have that magic to make delay to make their move, which winds up with a full rush to the QB, thus poor quick throws, less running gain. The result a long Redskin losing season at the current alignment. Dude, cheer up! I’m sure RG3 will regain his full strength and work out the kinks very soon. Don’t be such a pessimist. Laurie wrote,what is going on at Fox, besides the obvious- unfair and unbalanced. Why on earth would you switch to a different NFL game during the Packer game???? Heck if I know. Believe me, the television folks don’t consult me on any of their decisions. But wait, I have a theory on why they cut away from that game. Maybe because the Packers had a bajillion-point lead and maybe FOX doesn’t want viewers changing the channel?
Alright, people. Before you decided to change the channel, let’s wrap it up. See you next week!
