A "Super Bowl hangover" is a narrative that always gets linked to the losing team in the Super Bowl.
The San Francisco 49ers didn't have to worry about that too much four years ago. They were a young and ascending team, so it seemed like the beginning of their Super Bowl window. However, their loss in the Super Bowl nine months ago has them on "hangover" watch.
It is tough to deny that the 49ers aren't with a 5-5 record. It isn't solely because of their underwhelming record; rather, it's because they have lost three games they were in control of. This team is reeling, and it is because they are hungover from their Super Bowl loss.
Just don't mention that to head coach Kyle Shanahan. On Monday via conference call, Shanahan pushed back at lengths on the "Super Bowl hangover" notion to explain the down season the 49ers are experiencing.
"I don't think there is an answer about a journey or Super Bowl hangover," Shanahan refuted. "The only thing that matters is what happens in those three-and-a-half hours in a football game. And the only thing that you can do about those three-and-a-half hours is focus on football and how to get better at that stuff in practice in meetings. And anything outside of that, any talking about it, any pointing to other people trying to make up any type of narrative of it that doesn't have to do with exactly what's happening on the football field will only make that stuff harder.
"Those are the challenges because guys know their job and they're just supposed to do their job and guys don't always know what other people are responsible for and doing and that's why you’ve got to make sure you got tough-minded people who can focus on really what their job is and nothing more than that. And it gets harder when you have adversity and stuff like that when you aren't getting as many W’s as you want. But no matter how much harder it gets, you’ve got to always understand it's about the ball and you’ve got to keep it about the ball and nothing else.”
You have to hand it to Shanahan. He handled the question on the 49ers experiencing a "Super Bowl hangover" well. His messaging is exactly how it should be for his team. He and the team can't buy into it. It's like buying into the "Madden curse" for the video game cover.
Shanahan needs the state of the locker room to not worry about anything before this season, or even the week before. All that matters is, what he said, about the game in front of them every Sunday. It sounds like he's got a good handle on it, but it is still tough to fully buy stock that they aren't hungover.
The minds of the 49ers may be past the Super Bowl, but their spirit and emotions aren't. There just seems to be a lack of urgency from them. It's kind of like they are going through the motions somewhat. It's not that they don't care, but they are probably feeling defeated after three straight years of heartbreak.
Again, it's difficult to believe the 49ers aren't hungover. There should be little to no confidence that they will salvage the season and make another fantastic run in the playoffs.
