Oh, so ridiculously close. This was one of those games that really could have gone either way, and unfortunately it was the Niners that came up just short.

Things looked promising for the Niners early when Seattle’s first play resulted in a fumble and a turnover. Although they could only squeeze three points out of it, the Niners later were able to score a touchdown to bring the score to 10-0. The defense looked solid and Kaepernick looked like he was going to shine with his characteristic running game, that first touchdown being aided by an impressive 58 yard dash. At the half with the score 10-3, things looked really good. Definitely not dominant, but good, considering how many predicted this game was going to play out. The second half is where things started to go awry. Turnovers galore against the Niners, bad calls, and the Seahawks making their scoring plays. Of course, by this time the whole “SEATTLE IS SO LOUD” narrative had been beaten utterly to death by the media, complete with an onscreen decibel meter to keep track of how “deafening” the crowd was. Okay. The moment when Fox News reporter Pam Oliver responded with “You know, it’s not that loud down here…” when asked about the sound onfield was thus, too good.

Naturally, the fourth quarter was a full-on heart-attack of a ride that San Francisco sports fans are only too familiar with (Giants torture anyone?). With less than two minutes on the clock, the Niners attempted their last offensive drive down by 6. The momentum picked up as down after down was quickly made and the team advanced down the field. Twenty two seconds left, my heart is racing, the sweat is pouring. The crowd is on their feet, nervous as the rest of us, cheering oh so loudly. The Niners are a mere eighteen yards away. The ball is put in play. There is a moment where Kaepernick looks towards the end zone, and then he launches it. It seems to hang in the air, and yes, Crabtree is there to catch it–but oh! He can’t quite get his hands on it as it is deflected, but it’s only the first down right, but wait–another Seahawks player is there to catch and intercept it before it falls to the ground. Game over.

Needless to say, that was a pretty sore loss. Down to the last minute, down to the last chance to forge ahead — so close! So close. The Seahawks played their game, they seized their opportunities and won it fairly. But they didn’t dominate the Niners as everyone anticipated, in their house, and because you know, it’s loud there. The Niners played well too, but certainly they’ll come away from this with even more experience gained and lessons learned (Kaepernick’s passing game can only get better, right?).

Next football season will be a good one for the Niners again. In the meantime, I’m greatly looking forward to the baseball season.

And in the meantime, I’ll be rooting for the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.