THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: ‘The Catch’ was just a ‘nice catch,’ depending on who you root for
My friend Ryan Bronson and I will just have to agree to disagree on “The Catch.”
Ryan is a longtime Cowboys fan, and lifelong North Idaho resident. He was formerly a sports writer at The Press, and later the news editor.
“It's been almost 40 years since that game, and it has to be one of the most overplayed highlights in the history of the NFL,” Ryan said. “I mean, we won the next two NFC Championship games we played against the Niners, but all we ever see is that highlight, again and again. As a Cowboy fan, for the longest time, I just got sick of them playing that replay ... 15, 20, 25 years after the fact, over and over.
“As time has passed, I've realized a couple of things: One, it was a nice catch ... about as nice as 40 other catches I've seen this season. Two, it is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic moments in NFL history and deserves its place in football lore ... especially because it beat the Cowboys.”
AS FOR me, you may have noticed, I’ve been a 49ers fan since the late 1960s, growing up in Salem, Ore., at a time where the only two West Coast teams in the NFL were the 49ers and the Rams. I rooted for John Brodie … then Joe Montana … then anyone else who wore the red and gold.
In fact, if asked to sum up happiness in just a few words, I would reply with this:
SF — Clark 6 pass from Montana (Wersching kick)
The 49ers and Cowboys — or Cowboys and 49ers — have had some pretty storied playoff matchups over the years. But until last season, when S.F. won in a wild-card matchup at Dallas, they hadn’t met in the postseason since 1995.
Today, they meet in the playoffs for the first time in Santa Clara, with the winner advancing to the NFC Championship.
PRETTY MUCH everyone remembers “The Catch,” whether they saw it live or not.
Folks of a certain age remember the three straight meetings between the 49ers and Cowboys in the NFC title game in the 1990s.
Folks of a “real” certain age (re: old) remember the three straight playoff meetings in the early 1970s.
The Cowboys were the better team at that time, and won the first two, both in the NFC Championship.
But the 49ers should have won Round 3, in the 1972 divisional playoff. Vic Washington (who you probably don’t remember) returned the opening kickoff on the carpet at Candlestick for a touchdown, and the Niners led by 12 points late in the game. But Roger Staubach (who you probably do remember) led the Cowboys to a comeback 30-28 victory, the winning TD set up after 49ers wide receiver Preston Riley, on the “hands” team, decided to treat an onside kick as if he were a human backboard.
The Cowboys continued to be Super Bowl regulars for the rest of the 1970s, while the 49ers went into a tailspin after that loss … until Bill Walsh came along in 1979 to save the day.
BACK TO Ryan …
“I became a Cowboys fan in the late 70s, mostly because my closest uncle was a Cowboys fan, but also because they were on TV a lot and had the likes of ‘Too Tall’ Jones and, of course, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders,” he said. “I was a huge Tony Dorsett fan. In January 1982, you couldn't have found a more invested 9-year-old.
“What I remember about that game is that I really, really wanted the Cowboys to win, and it kind of felt like they were the better team for most of the game. So then Montana hits Clark in the back of the end zone ... I'm not sure there is any other way I can describe it other than just total disbelief. Of course, we still had a chance to win after that play, but there was a different aura about the game by then. In my entire life, only one game — outside of games I've played in — has brought me to tears. Just one.”
Opinions differ as to whether “The Catch” — followed by the shirt-grab tackle, followed by the strip-sack — completely changed the fortunes of the two franchises.
What’s for sure is the 49ers went on to win the Super Bowl two weeks later — the first of five in a span of 14 seasons.
The Cowboys reached the NFC title game the following season, but then suffered through five straight losing seasons before returning to glory under coach Jimmy Johnson and that owner who’s still around that you’ve probably heard of.
When Dallas won those three Super Bowls in four years in the 1990s, they beat the 49ers in the NFC title game the first two years. S.F. denied the Cowboys a three-peat — “They did steal one from us,” Ryan said — before Dallas won its final Super Bowl during the 1995 season.
THE RIVALRY between the 49ers and Cowboys has been on-again, off-again. Other than the back-to-back meetings in the early 70s, the three straight matchups in the 1990s and “The Catch” game, it’s hard to be rivals when you haven’t met in the playoffs in 27 seasons.
The 49ers’ rival? In the old days, it was the Rams, when it was S.F. vs. L.A., a rivalry rekindled when the Rams returned from St. Louis a few years ago.
For a few years in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was the Packers in the playoffs.
These days? Other than the Rams? Maybe that team in Seattle.
As for Dallas …
“I think Cowboys fans have differing opinions about which team is our No. 1 most-hated rival,” Ryan said. “I'm sure some Cowboys fans are like me: The team we dislike the most is whoever happens to be the second-best team in the NFC East that year. Seriously though, all of those East teams are big rivals. Outside of the division, the Niners are probably right there with the Steelers and Packers, in no particular order. One caveat to that, for me, is that I was born and raised here. I root for the Seahawks (when they don't play the Cowboys), so yeah, I have a particular dislike for the Niners ... now as much as ever.”
Understandable. When I’m not pulling for the 49ers, I usually root for the Cowboys — how can you not cheer for “America’s Team,” after all — and probably would next week if they win today.
WHOEVER YOU root for, both teams have been on long title droughts.
Some teams consider it a successful season when they eke into the playoffs. The 49ers and Cowboys measure success by winning Super Bowls.
San Francisco went five for five in Super Bowls from the 1981-94 seasons. The 49ers have only been back twice since then, losing in the Super Bowl after the 2012 and ‘19 seasons.
You would think 49ers fans would be satisfied with five Super Bowls — after all, only the Steelers and Patriots, with six each, have more, meaning 28 of the 32 teams have won fewer.
But once you get that taste of winning them …
Same with Dallas.
Dallas has appeared in eight Super Bowls (all from the 1970-95 seasons) and won five.
“It has been quite a drought for us since then,” Ryan said. “Our last NFC Championship Game appearance was what, 27 years ago? That is a long time for "America's Team" to not even reach a conference championship game, but it's not like we've been horrible. In the past 20 seasons, not including playoffs, the Dallas Cowboys have had a losing record just four times. By contrast, the Niners have had 12 losing seasons during that same span.
As for the Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought …
“All I can say is, let's hope it ends sooner rather than later,” Ryan said.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.
