The 49ers followed the Chiefs onto the stage at Allegiant Stadium on Monday night for Super Bowl Opening Night.
Here are some of the top quotes from the evening:
George Kittle on why people should root for the 49ers:
We have more fun than anybody else out there, man. We have so many great players. We have the best offensive lineman in the history of the game (Trent Williams). Nick Bosa’s quads are bigger than my torso. We’ve got superheroes on this team.
Kittle sorting various 49ers into Hogwarts houses:
I feel like Shanahan would be a Ravenclaw. McCaffrey… (pause) I feel like we have the character to all be in Gryffindor, but I don’t want to say that because that’s just boring. I’d put Christian in Slytherin. (He and Ross Dwelley put Nick Bosa in Gryffindor. Brock Purdy in Hufflepuff).
Kyle Shanahan on telling 49ers CEO Jed York in 2022 that Purdy, then the third-stringer, was their best quarterback:
It wasn’t the smartest moment I’ve ever had. When the owner comes in after training camp practice and is like “How’s the quarterback?”, what he means is the starter or the second, and you in irritation go “I don’t know, but our third guy’s the best.”
Shanahan on recognizing Purdy’s talent early:
Brock was so good right away with every rep he got and he was always the same. He only got a couple of them, so it was easy for me to say, because in his few reps, he was the best, but if you know that for a fact, then you (start him) right away. But he was the best. but you ease that on and every time he got a little more reps, it was the same as when he got two …
That’s what was so real about Brock. That’s why after seven games his rookie, when he got hurt, we knew what we had. Because we knew what we had in practice every day and he was the exact same in the games.
Shanahan on whether he’s worried about the surface at the UNLV practice field, which reportedly has some 49ers officials concerned:
“Not worried at all. … It improves each day so hopefully it will get better and better.”
Brock Purdy on whether he can name all the quarterbacks drafted before him in 2022:
“Honestly, I’m not that kind of guy. I know a couple of the guys that got drafted before me but I’ve never held a grudge for it or anything. I’m a believer that God has a plan for everybody and I fell last for a reason.”
Brock Purdy’s Spongebob impression
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Purdy on planning his wedding with college sweetheart Jenna Brandt:
“Jenna’s done a great job with the wedding plans. Obviously, we got engaged in the summer and the boom, the season hit, so for me it’s been obviously football and trying to win every week. She’s done such a tremendous job. When I come home and we just talk about the little things of the wedding, and honestly it’s helped me with football to sort of get my mind off football and we have our time to talk about the wedding and what our future looks like, so it’s something that we’ve loved the whole process of.”
Purdy on being part of a team:
“The bottom line is, life isn’t about you. That’s what I believe — being a part of something bigger than yourself. You get wrapped up with getting all the glory, the fame, the status, I feel like that’s a shallow life. That can fade away pretty quickly. So for me, obviously we’re playing for the Super Bowl, I’m very honored and thankful. I want to win a championship for this organization. But more than anything, I’m just trying to serve my guys on this team well. Love on them well. The whole organization and everyone in my life, that’s how I view it.”
Christian McCaffrey on his brother, Luke, a star receiver at Rice:
“Being the youngest of four, there’s nobody who has a bigger chip on his shoulder than him. What would be really cool is if we got to play together one day because he’s been playing receiver for just a year. He’s first-team all-conference, had all these accolades only playing one year, so I just can’t wait to see what he does at the next level and I really hope I get to play with him one day.”