LAS VEGAS — Standing on the sideline, absorbing the reality of a loss to Kansas City in a Super Bowl four years ago in which he had just four catches, tight end George Kittle made a prediction. It was actually more of a promise. It wasn’t directed at anyone other than himself, and he certainly had no idea it would be picked up by the ever-present microphones that collect such soundbites.
“I will be back here,” he said, somberly and matter-of-factly, belying his often raucous style and flair for fun that he generally exudes. “I will be back here. I will be back with a vengeance. You will not get the best of me. No, sir.”
He was right.
The 49ers are back. They are facing Kansas City yet again. And Kittle, the NFL’s Inigo Montoya, is not only with them, he’s a huge part of the reason why San Francisco is on the verge of fulfilling his vow in Super Bowl LVIII.
Kittle was asked about that soundbite this week, what it meant to him then, and what it means now.
“My entire life growing up I was taught to speak things into existence because if you don’t speak them, if you don’t tell yourself those things, if you don’t say them out loud, how are they ever going to happen?” Kittle said this week about the clip of his blood oath that went viral shortly after it was delivered and has come roaring back to life ahead of this game. “Things don’t just come from chance. You have to work for what you get. I didn’t look back at that video every day, I didn’t do that by any means, but saying I would be back, has that influenced me a little bit? Sure.”
Kittle led all NFL tight ends this season with 1,020 receiving yards and in the postseason has caught 10 more passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. He may be the “other” tight end in this game given the enormous bump in popularity Travis Kelce of Kansas City has received since his relationship with pop star Taylor Swift became public earlier this season, but in Sunday’s game, he might very well be…
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