Oh what up, niner gang. Did y’all lose weight?

Some background: I’m a brand new 49ers fan and for one reason—Im a 30+ year fan of a little football program called Iowa State University. Those of you who watch college football know where this is going, but here’s the TLDR: ISU fans have always been irrationally proud of one of the worst athletic departments in all of division 1 athletics for as long as I can remember. With that in mind, I can confidently say that the following statement is not hyperbole:

No one in the history of Iowa State athletics has ever handled the crushing burden of decades of hopelessness with more pride and grace than Brock Purdy.

At this point, it’s reasonable to ask, “what the fuck does this have to do with the price of Christian McCaffrey’s sweat towels?”

I’ll cut to the chase: what I’m suggesting is that the entire narrative about Brock’s value is wrong.

Any talking-head debate about QBR, win-loss record, or intangible characteristics is (as most of us have come to realize) a waste of breath. And why?

Because what makes Brock special is—and always has been—a genuine, passionate, and borderline naive dedication to the people around him.

I can’t say this any more plainly: Brock is exactly who you think he is. He’s exactly who he tells you he is. So when he tells you how much he loves this team, what he wants to accomplish, and that he recognizes and takes every mistake seriously… He actually fucking means it.

This interpretation will offer little solace when weekly variance kicks in. He’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to have off games. But what I’m hoping to convey to you beautiful strangers is that you should never doubt that this baby-faced killer is donning the gold helmet with (just like Iowa State) a conscious knowledge of the weight of those depending on him.

And, frankly? I’d bet my McDonald’s Flinstone mugs that his career will be defined by that fact.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for having red and gold colors. It has made transitioning to the niner gang from the ISU cardinal and gold as easy as a 17 yard completion to Aiyuk over the middle.

Have a great night and remember: keep your stick on the ice.