The 49ers have reached the NFC Championship game for the first time in 15 years, and they did it by becoming a detail-oriented football team.
If you want to make it to the Championship game at Candlestick Park on Sunday, you're going to have to become a detail-oriented fan.
Tickets are expensive and rare. Transportation to the stadium, which is always tough, could be especially difficult. And it might rain, too.
Don't think you can just breeze in fashionably late on Sunday. You're going to have to leave your house early and have a plan, a backup plan and a backup plan to backup the backup plan.
To help you make plans, here's all the information a detail-oriented fan could need.
Weather forecast: 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s. 5-10 miles-per-hour south winds.
TV and Radio: The game will be on KTVU FOX 2. The pregame show will start at 3 p.m. Enjoy as former players and coaches such as Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson explain to the nation why the Giants will beat the 49ers. Live game coverage starts at 3:30. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will call the game. Fox's postgame show, The OT, will air immediately following the game, and it will include the George S. Halas trophy presentation to the winning team. And, of course, not to miss a beat, FOX will go with a special edition of American Idol right after that.
KNBR will give live updates from Candlestick Park from Noon to kickoff. And then they'll broadcast the game, with Ted Robinson and Eric Davis announcing. But KNBR won't be the only radio station broadcasting the game. Every Cumulus station will, as a matter of fact. That means you can listen to the game on KGO 810, KSFO 560, 107.7 The Bone or KFOG 104.5/97.7. Each station will begin pregame coverage at 2:30.
Tickets: Starting at $325 on StubHub for upper reserve corner end zone seats.
Transportation: There are multiple express MUNI lines in San Francisco that will take you to the stadium. They are the 75X, 77X, 78X and 79X. If you're coming from Santa Rosa, the 101 line of the Golden Gate Transit bus line will take you right to the Civic Center in San Francisco. If you're coming from the East bay take BART to the Montgomery St. station, walk half a block to the corner of Sutter and Sansome and catch the 79X to Candlestick. If you're coming from the peninsula, take BART to Balboa, walk to Geneva Ave. and catch the 75X or the 78X.
Parking: The price of a Candlestick lot pass starts at $175 on Ebay. If you decide to shell out that much dough or if you already have a pass, here's a good shortcut when you're driving to the game. If you take the Bay Bridge, get off at Fifth St. You don't want to take 101 all the way to Candlestick, because that route will take forever. Get off at Fifth, turn left onto Harrison and then left on Sixth. Then get on 280 and take that a couple miles back to 101. You skip a huge section of traffic. Just don't tell anyone about this shortcut - its secrecy preserves its effectiveness.
Tailgating: Parking lot gates open four hours before kickoff, so you can arrive as early at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Sports Bars: In Santa Rosa, of course you can start at Ausiello's 5th Street Grill downtown and then meader to just about any restaurant/bar downtown. If you're in San Francisco, check out Pete's Tavern for starters. And in the East Bay, the Englander in San Leandro has lots of TVs and good food. If you're looking for a more classic sports bar in the East Bay, you've got to go to Ricky's - also in San Leandro.
As a courtesy, the 49ers will show the Ravens-Patriots game on the big screen in Candlestick starting at noon.
They encourage fans to come early, be safe, and enjoy.
And, oh, don't forget that rain coat.
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