It’s a good time to be from the Bay, particularly if you consider yourself a fan of sports. There are three professional leagues that people care about in this country, those being the NBA, NFL, and MLB, with the NHL a distant fourth. The Bay Area is the only place that can lay a claim to being relevant in all of them. At first glance, it’s unfathomable to believe we are where we are. Steroid controversies, bad locker rooms, years of mediocrity, and just flat-out bad personnel and coaching just a few years ago are a testament to the accomplishments these teams now spoil us with. We can all agree that while winning is always fun, it’s been the ways these teams have rediscovered themselves that has been truly gratifying.

Let’s start with the guys on top of the Bay Area world right now (For now; we’ll get to that later). Those gritty, never say die San Francisco Giants. You can’t take five steps in San Francisco without seeing some form of Giants attire. The pandemonium that filled the city after their second World Series win in three years can be attributed to far more than just a big game from the Panda, a heartfelt plea from the reverend, Hunter Pence, or a lesson in humility from the Freak. More than any other team, perhaps ever, it was the sum of all of these parts that allowed an above average team on paper to lay claim to the best team in the world in reality.

We can say with certainty that this Giants team had two bona fide stars, Matt Cain and Buster Posey, and a few other players a year or two away from stardom themselves. Those players could make any team good. What made this team great, however, were not just those players. It was the addition of key role players, ranging from the revitalized grizzled veteran, Marco Scutaro, to the talent starved but heart abundant Gregor Blanco. It was the unity in the locker room between the stars and the other guys, the no one is bigger than the team attitude that these men prided themselves on. They were, as they themselves put it, a band of brothers, a trait that the entire city of San Francisco adopted proudly. There is no greater atmosphere in all of sports than to be at a Giants home game. The city has fallen in love with them because they represent everything that is good not just in sports, but in people as well. And they rode that wave of love and support all the way to a championship, one that they claimed was just as much for we the fans as it was for them. And I believe them when they say it. The bond between this city and that team goes deeper then baseball. Gone are the days of the superstar complex of Bonds and Kent. The rise of the team has been completed.

The redemption story of the Warriors is not yet complete. But for a fan base starved for relevancy, they’re off to a good start. For years, this fan base has been regarded as the most irrational of them all. Not because of a bipolar personality displayed by some of those to the east (I’m looking at you Philly), but because of their inconsequential love and loyalty to their team, regardless of whether they were winning or losing. And there was a lot of losing. And while the losses piled up, and the morale went down, the support stayed the same. For a brief moment in the 2006-2007 season, their support was rewarded. Much like the Giants of 2012, that team was full of scrappers, misfits, and journeyman. But they came together and rewarded the fans with one of the most electrifying playoff series wins ever. The atmosphere in the crowd as the eight-seeded Warriors stood toe-to-toe with the heavily favored juggernaut that was the Dallas Mavericks was something you had to see to believe. They threw everything they had and came out on top. Some would say, looking back at it six years later, that the emotions displayed were a bit over the top. The tears of joy shed after that first round victory was enough to fill a desert oasis. But that’s all it was, right? A first round playoff win? Those gritty little Warriors didn’t have the same storybook ending that the Giants did so it obviously didn’t mean as much, right? Wrong. For that Warrior fan base, it meant everything. They didn’t need a championship. They needed to feel their support was validated. And that year it was.

Unfortunately, the Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since. Once again, the losses piled up and the highlights were few. But the support. It never wavered, not once. Their reward this time? Well, that’s yet to be determined. But watching this team is unlike anything we’ve seen for a long, long time. That unfounded support the fans have always shown is no longer unfounded. For the first time in years, there is hope. No, that’s wrong. There’s expectations. Whether this is a championship team or not in unclear. But unlike the We Believe Warriors that came out of nowhere six years ago, this team finally looks like it has a plan. They’re going in the right direction. They have young stars, a deep bench, and finally, they’re a team. We might be a few years away from seriously being a championship contender. But for a fan base that has never wavered, I think there’s a good chance they’ll still be there when the Warriors return to the pinnacle of immortality.

Speaking of the pinnacle of immortality, there is one Bay Area team that is standing at the cusp of it. On February 3, 2013, the San Francisco 49ers will play for their 6th Lombardi Trophy in 6 tries. That means something. Something very, very special. There is an aura that surrounds the 49ers, the only team in professional football that has never lost the big one in so many visits. We were once the definition of greatness, the franchise all others desperately emulated, but always fell short of. The ingredients that make up this team are very similar to those of the Giants and Warriors. Must be a Bay Area thing. They play for each other, keep each other accountable, and would each go to war for any other guy on that roster, star or not. The key difference is the abundance of talent on this team. Everywhere you look there are guys that would start on any roster in the league. While the Giants scratched and clawed their way to a championship, this 49er team simply just has to go out and play their best game.

Unlike the fans of the Giants or Warriors, this is a team whose fan base grew accustomed to greatness for many, many years. Sadly, those times have eluded us for far too long. We tolerated the good but not great years of Steve Mariucci, toiled through the perplexing regime of Mike Nolan, and endured the train-wreck that was Mike Singletary. But we are 49er fans. We yearned for a return to the greatness that Bill Walsh once gave us, the thrills that Jerry Rice provided, the invincibility we felt with Joe Montana. For too many years we have stood proudly behind the accomplishments of the past. It’s time we put the past behind us. The future is bright. The future shows us Colin Kaepernick eluding defenses like nobody else can. It shows us Patrick Willis conducting a defense that makes those of the past proud. It shows us a coach that has brought that culture of greatness back to 49er football. The future is very much upon us now.