Icing on the Cake?

It's a cake - with 49er icing! Get it?

Sunday morning, my wife and I were still basking in the afterglow of the victory over the Saints. Figuring a trip to Green Bay was next for the Niners, my thought was that, regardless of how the season ended, the dramatic win against New Orleans was a great way to highlight a successful return to NFL prominence. While I thought the Niners would have a chance to defeat Green Bay, I wasn't banking on it (Lambeau Field has always been a house of horrors for San Francisco).

Of course, by late Sunday afternoon, before the final whistle had been blown in the Giants-Packers game, we were already online searching for NFC Championship tickets.

Sunday morning, I thought that anything else the 49ers accomplished this season would be icing on the cake. But by Sunday night, I realized that the Niners now had an excellent opportunity to transform an already outstanding season into something truly special. For the first time since postseason seeding was implemented during the 1970s, the Niners leapfrogged into the top slot to host the conference title game after entering the playoffs as a number two (or lower) seed.

Sunday morning, I was satisfied with the 2011 season. But by Sunday night, I wanted more.