Here are instructions for getting under another city’s skin ahead of an NFL playoff game.
Step one: Identify a film essential to the town’s self-image. Say, Rocky, in the event your opponent happens to be the Eagles.
Step two: Draw a connection between that film’s protagonist, the underdog boxer who surprises the reigning champ, and your own team’s quarterback, the final pick in last year’s NFL draft who rose from third on the depth chart to within a victory of the Super Bowl.
Step three: Locate a statue of Rocky in the shadow of one of the City of Brotherly Love’s most recognizable landmarks — the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Step four: Drape a 49ers shirt over said statue.
San Francisco fans followed that script to a T this week ahead of the 49ers’ showdown with Philadelphia in the NFC championship Sunday afternoon.
They also took to calling quarterback Brock Purdy “Brocky,” as the seventh-round pick teeters on the brink of becoming the first rookie to lead his team to the Super Bowl.
