Like Our Super Bowl Hopes: Started Strong, Now It’s Peeling Away

When my San Francisco 49ers glass arrived, I felt the same surge of hope and optimism that every Niners fan experiences at the start of each season. This was it. This was THE glass. The one that would finally bring balance to my kitchen cabinet and restore order to my beverage consumption. The glass is gorgeous—sleek, elegant, dripping with that scarlet and gold magnificence. It’s the Kyle Shanahan of drinkware: innovative, stylish, and you just KNOW it’s going to break your heart eventually. And break my heart it did. After approximately three washes (or one NFL game, whichever came first), I noticed the coloring on the side beginning to peel off like the 49ers’ fourth-quarter lead in Super Bowl LIV. Then it started peeling more, like our hopes in Super Bowl XLVII. And then even MORE, like watching another devastating overtime loss. I’m starting to think this glass was manufactured in Levi’s Stadium, because just like our home field advantage, it looked incredible on paper but somehow performs worse than expected when it actually matters. The decal is now 60% gone. My glass has basically become a metaphor for the Deebo Samuel trade rumors—fragmenting before our very eyes while we pretend everything is fine. But here’s the thing: I still use it every single day. Because that’s what it means to be a 49ers fan. We stay loyal through the peeling, the fading, and the inexplicable late-game collapses. We’re built different (structurally unsound, but different). Three stars. Would watch it fall apart in heartbreaking fashion again. Faithful then, faithful now, faithful forever—even when the logo isn’t.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​