Super Bowl 47: Rooting for the Players

It's obvious that we will all be rooting for the 49ers to win on Sunday. Of course. We are fans of the team. That only makes sense. But, there's a part of me that wants to see certain players do well. I want to see certain players take the team onto their back and win the game. This team is so much fun precisely because the players are really easy to root for (recent scandals aside). It's reminiscent of the latest World Series run the Giants had. The team was entirely likeable. And, in fact, one of my favorite games of the whole postseason was the three home run game by Pablo Sandoval. He put the team on his back and swung away.

So, if this was going to happen for the 49ers, who would you want it to be? I have a few choices.

First, and this is my gut instinct, is Frank Gore. I love the man. Hands down my favorite player on the team. In addition, I want to start the official NinersNation Hall of Fame train for Frank. If he topped 100 yards and scored a TD, I bet he wins the Super Bowl MVP. That would be amazing for his credentials - especially if he can top 10,000 yards during his career. Moreover, the man just deserves the day of fame. He deserves to stand up under a confetti waterfall as the best player on the field.

On the other hand, we've got a young guy: Aldon Smith. I want Aldon to rack up, like, five sacks in the game. I want him to dominate at the line of scrimmage in both the pass game and in the run game. I'm getting super tired of people doubting Aldon by tying his success to Justin Smith's performance in a game. It's clear that his production has dropped off significantly without 100% healthy Justin. But, still, Aldon has been getting pressure. The kid is full of talent and that is playing out on the field. I hope we can see it in a big way on Sunday to shut everybody up.

Who are you rooting for in particular this Sunday?