Illustration by Eloni Bickham
After nine straight losses to start off the 2017 season, the San Francisco 49ers have earned their first win. Following a 2-14 finish to the 2016 season, niner fans were hoping for a comeback this year.
During the offseason, the niners picked up a number of promising players and a new head coach. For the past two years, the team has struggled to find a head coach that could rebuild a team, but in former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, it appeared that the 49ers had found the right man for the job.
Although this season has been disappointing, the games have shown potential. Five of the nine losses have been within three points. Close games are exciting and provide a satisfying matchup each week. In week ten, the 49ers faced the New York Giants, who held a similarly unimpressive record of 1-7, leading many neutrals to dub the matchup “the toilet bowl.” In the end, the red and gold were triumphant, coming out with a 31-21 win.
While the 49ers have struggled again this season, this year’s failure could pave the path to success in the future. The NFL employs a system where the highest draft picks are awarded to the teams with the worst record in the previous season. For this reason, if teams don’t have a chance at reaching the playoffs, they will often intentionally lose games in hopes for higher draft picks. This tactic is called “tanking”, and it often upsets fans, as losses are essentially scheduled during the later stages of the season.
It is extremely unlikely that the NFL will change its system anytime soon. But should the organization feel the need to change, the NFL should look no further than European soccer for a system that eradicates tanking matches. Within each country, there are multiple divisions. At the end of the season, the bottom teams (usually the bottom three) are relegated to a lower division. Meanwhile, the top teams from the lower divisions are promoted. This system ensures that struggling teams have an incentive to continue to perform.
In all likelihood, the NFL will not shift to this system and the 49ers will be in the NFL next year. The restoration of any sports team doesn’t happen through one offseason, and it may be awhile. Until then Niners fans must be patient and trust the process.