Opinion: San Francisco 49ers infuse NFL with WWE-level entertainment

Jarrett Bell | USA TODAY

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Anxiety enveloped Levi’s Stadium during the fourth quarter Saturday, threatening the feel-good revival that the 49ers' first playoff game at their relatively new digs had become. It was nothing tied to the outcome. The romp was secure.

It was Nick Bosa. San Francisco’s rookie defensive end lay on the turf in apparent agony after yet another collision while in pursuit of Vikings running back Dalvin Cook.

Then came the chant. “Bosa! Bosa! Bosa!”

Maybe that did the trick for quick healing. Bosa suddenly sprang to hit feet and played to the crowd. He was just fine. And to prove it, he pumped, gyrated and smacked himself in the head repeatedly, igniting a roar of relief.

Turns out, Bosa simply had the wind knocked out of him.

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“I was just trying to get my breath back initially,” Bosa said. “They told me to stay down for a second. Then I heard the chants. I had to get up. It was a really cool moment, though.”

So cool you’d think it should have come with theme music.

“I thought he sat there and milked his injury for a little bit longer just to hear the crowd chant his name,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan joked – maybe – after the 27-10 smashing secured an encore in the NFC championship game on Sunday.

This is what you get from the 49ers, the most complete team left in these NFL playoffs. They can run on you with their power-zone scheme, as the 47 rushes for 186 yards on Saturday illustrated. They can throw, too, with Jimmy Garoppolo having an eclectic cast of targets at his disposal. And that defense, healthier now than it has been in weeks, can punish opponents at different levels. Bosa had a monster playoff debut with two sacks, three quarterback hits, two tackles for losses and a batted pass. But he was hardly a one-man band. Each of the other four first-round talents on the D-line had a sack, too.

Yet the full effect of the San Francisco package comes with theatrics, too.

Bosa playing to the crowd was in keeping with crafty cornerback Richard Sherman admonishing critics for generally disrespecting his still-formidable game during (another) classic postgame rant. When Sherman got a pick, he came to the sideline mouthing, “I like that!” – a tailor-made reference to the catchphrase fashioned by Kirk Cousins, the Vikings quarterback he had just intercepted.

Other evidence of the team’s brash disposition came from linebacker Kwon Alexander, who pronounced during the player intros for the NBC broadcast that he attended “Hot Boyz University” – a nod to the nickname of a group of linebackers that is derived from a classic rap group featuring Lil Wayne, who is said to be Shanahan’s favorite rapper.

And it's never quite clear how the talented tight end, George Kittle, is going to spin it …except that he fashions himself as a football version of his wrestling-infused idol, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. After a victory against the Steelers in September, Kittle posted an impersonation of “The Rock” on social media, asking in Rock-like fashion, “Can you smell what the Niners are cooking?”

On Saturday, Kittle broke out with cleats on that paid homage to The Rock, a former University of Miami (Fla.) footballer-turned-Hollywood action hero. He indeed caught the tight end’s impersonation several weeks ago and complimented “The People’s Tight End,” as The Rock put it with a Twitter shout-out of approval.

Kittle takes this wrestling stuff seriously. During the 49ers’ bye week, he led a contingent of teammates who attended a WWE Smackdown Live event.

“But I just found out that he only started watching it like three years ago,” veteran tackle Joe Staley cracked to USA TODAY Sports. “I’m like, ‘What?’ That’s his whole persona.”

Well, it’s seemingly part of the 49ers' persona, too. This emerging group wins – including a November smackdown of the Green Bay Packers, their opponent in the Super Bowl-or-bust main event on Sunday – and they know how to have fun doing it.

Just don’t confuse these tight-knit 49ers as being wrestling-world fake.

No, this act comes with plenty of substance, a reason they are one victory from Super Bowl LIV.

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.