Open Letter to Feinstein
by Vini Chopra – 11.16.06

Dear Mrs. Feinstein,

I am writing to you today on behalf of many 49er fans everywhere. It seems that you have taken an active role in deciding the team’s location for the near future. While I am encouraged by your devotion to keep the 49ers in San Francisco, I cannot help but wonder why you would demonstrate this will now when the city that the 49ers represent has stood idley for nearly ten years regarding the fate of a 49er’s stadium. In other words, I am urging you to stop mixing politics with American sports and let the team handle its own affairs as that is the right of a private organization.

Some of your quotes from the past few days have had me scratching my head quite a bit. The first is this:

“I think it is critical that we retain the 49ers, and it may be because I was there in the ‘80s, I was there in the glory days,” Feinstein said after the hearing. “So much of the fabric of the city is the 49ers.”

While I admit that I am unaware of your current commitment to the 49ers organization as a fan, when you say that you were here in the 80s (the team’s glory days, as you put it), this angers me. In this tirade of yours, I question your real commitment to the team. It is easy for anyone to say that they were “here” during the 80s and the glory days. Everyone was a 49er fan then. The team won 5 championships. So, I wonder what you have accomplished by admitting that you followed a team during a time period in which the team enjoyed a great deal of success? A better question is if you have followed the team ever since, especially during the recent years when the team has been on a down period. Can you honestly name ten starters on the current roster off of the top of your head or the team’s current philosophy and direction? Can you name the offensive scheme we have used and its ties to Don Coryell, an innovator of offense during the golden age of football? Do you spend countless hours debating whether we should select an offensive or defensive player in next year’s draft? Do you follow the draft for two straight days ( although I understand that politicians have little time on their hands)?

If the answer to a majority of the questions above is a resounding “no,” and somehow I suspect that is the case, then what gives you the right to step up and act as if you are the only voice that can be heard during this ordeal? I hope you realize that 90% of the 49ers’ season ticket holders reside outside of the city (49ers Marketing Department) and that while Santa Clara is not San Francisco, it is not in such a location that would deprive fans around the Bay Area of their team. With improved transportation and a better football experience attributed to the new location of the stadium, perhaps the very same fans (and you claim to be one based on your words) that are engulfed in the tradition of San Francisco can enjoy the team in the proper way. That cannot be done in the 49ers’ current stadium, and since it has been ten years since the fans have heard any serious negotiations to build another stadium in the current location, then you should realize that the 49er fans are better off if the team moved to Santa Clara and gave its fanbase a real home to celebrate games and victories.

Here is another phrase of yours that does not sit well with the fanbase:

“You’re in San Francisco, you’re a San Francisco 49er,” said Feinstein, a former San Francisco mayor. “You’re outside of San Francisco, you’re not a San Francisco 49er.”

Excuse me for being intrusive but, once again, who gave you the authority to decide who can and cannot be a 49er? Perhaps you were speaking of the literal definition of the term “San Francisco 49er” and referring to the miners during 1849 gold rush who used San Francisco as a base city. However, the term San Francisco 49er is synonymous with the team for every fan. And because of that, neither a city, you, or myself can deem who is a 49er and who is not. You did not build the teams of the glory years to make that kind of an allegation. Presently, you do not run the team, coach the team, nor do you select the players that can make the final roster. The only way to decide who is a 49er and who is not resides within the measuring stick of history. Because the 49ers of the past set the mark of excellence in football so high, the only way to deem whether a player or the current organization is worthy of the 49er name correlates directly with how those entities measure to and respect the past. For you to attribute so much of the team’s tradition and excellence towards a city is absurd. San Francisco did not make the 49ers. When a young and ambitious man by the name of Eddie Debartolo bought the team and hired an upcoming and shrewd offensive pioneer named Bill Walsh, that is what made the 49ers. Prior to that, the 49ers were made by the likes of coaches such as Dick Nolan, whose son coaches the team today. And thus, for you to judge who can and cannot be a 49er demonstrates nothing but your ability to throw around your political weight into a matter you are far from capable of understanding or grasping.

As a politician, your public image hinges on the views of the community. In holding down the 49ers organization and tying its hands with your power, you are doing nothing but proving that you are not a true fan or supporter of the team. Because if you were such a fan, then you would understand that a move to Santa Clara benefits the fans and the team. The city has nothing to lose. The 49ers have shown a commitment to carrying the tradition of the city and the team’s name with them wherever they go. They are moving to Santa Clara, an area that is not out of the way of most people that live in the Bay Area. Yet, they will represent your city. That means that all the advertising and all of the success attributed to the 49ers will still shine upon San Francisco.

So please, at the urging of loyal fans, do not bring your political material into a field that you have little knowledge about. For the community and the millions of 49er fans, we just want a successful team. A stadium procures this success. Since the city has shown very little commitment over the years towards getting a stadium project done, do not tie our team down while we continue to put the city on the sporting map. Afterall, which other San Francisco franchise can say that they have brought home 5 World Championships for their city? Whether they play in Santa Clara or elsewhere around the Bay Area, that will not change. Let the 49ers do what the 49ers need to do and make yourself useful in your expertise. There is a war in Iraq, tax money, and tons of other and more pressing issues in Washington for you to tackle. And I am sure you have a better grasp on those matters.

Sincerely,

The Vin