The San Francisco 49ers believe they’ve had the odds stacked against them on their journey to Super Bowl 58. They released a video on Saturday themed in that direction.
That viral short film, however, led to multiple reactions and fact-checks by the NFL world.
Fans Correct That the 49ers Weren’t Underdogs All Season Long
Here’s the film in question. It’s titled “Against All Odds” and shares a series of highlight plays throughout the 2023 season.
Against all odds 🎲
Next up: #SBLVIII on CBS pic.twitter.com/x3ahviUxAJ
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) February 2, 2024
Fans, though, took it to mean that the 49ers felt like the team with the odds stacked against them and are facing underdog status ahead of their rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 11. Some fans began to give the 49ers’ social media team a fact check.
“What odds would those be exactly? You were favored in 19 out of 19 games this season. Many by double digits. Your bravery and resilience in the face of adversity should be commended,” one Chiefs fan said in response on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Another fan asked on X: “When was the last game the Niners were underdogs?”
One more fan came out to say “They were favored in every game this season.” There was another who blasted the 49ers by saying “The 49ers STILL pretending to be underdogs?”
Finally, one more fan reminded me what the 49ers’ preseason Super Bowl odds were.
“Team was favored to win 12 games and had fourth highest odds to win the Super Bowl,” the fan said.
Do the Chiefs Feel Like the Favorites, Though?
Meanwhile, here’s the counterargument that some 49er fans may present to the fans mocking them for feeling like the underdog.
The 49ers are facing a team that’s won two Super Bowls since 2019, including against them. Furthermore, the Niners are attempting to end their long title-winning drought, with their last Lombardi Trophy coming in the 1994 season.
Yet, the Chiefs find themselves as a slight underdog per the oddsmakers and betting lines. Chiefs quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes isn’t shy about using the rare underdog status as motivation for Super Bowl Sunday.
“We just haven’t had that aspect, so it kind of lit fire under some guys, including myself,” Mahomes said to reporters. “At the end of the day, it’s playoff games. You want to win.”
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Mahomes dove further but added how, regardless of being the favorite or not, these are the types of games teams play for.
“This is what you pay for, and I think that fire would have been — regardless of if we were an underdog or not — that fire would have been lit because this is the time of year that you work for and you put in those hard practices for,” Mahomes said.
He added, “I think we have that mindset that if we’re going to practice the way we do, we’re going to work the way we work, we’re not going to let it slide by, we’re going to make sure we maximize our opportunity every time we’re out there.”
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