Monday Morning Cheerleader: Meridith of the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush
By Steve Mazzucchi
Esquire
Think the Niners made the Jaguars look bad this Sunday? This second-year Gold Rusher says they make Bill Belichick look ridiculous each weekend — in more ways than one.
Week Twelve in the NFL represents a critical juncture for any up-and-down team: Fail to emerge within spitting distance of .500, and you can pretty much start booking a long winter vacation — maybe with a Pro Bowl pit stop in Miami. Maybe. But thanks to San Francisco’s 20-3 housing of Jacksonville yesterday, the 5-6 Niners remain in the hunt. Maybe.
That has more than a little to do with their sideline supporters, including Meridith, the most jock-ular cheerleader we’ve met during our season-long survey. This former gymnast works as a football-operations assistant and PT aide while studying for her master’s in sports administration, but she also loves snowboarding, wakeboarding, and video-gaming (“When I play Madden, I make the 49ers look good, don’t you worry”), brings it in flag football (as a safety in one co-ed college game, she ran two picks back for TDs), and last year received her squad’s “tomboy” award (“At our banquet, I had at least twelve bruises on my legs from playing paintball, so everyone was like, ‘Just look at her'”). Not surprisingly, she’s got some strong opinions about San Francisco’s prospects.
ESQUIRE: Your team led 17-3 at the half. Were you worried they might slip up late?
MERIDITH: No. Our defense dominated. Six sacks, two takeaways. After the field goal, I figured that was all the Jaguars would get. We’re normally a running team, but we switched to more of a spread offense, with more receivers, and Alex Smith really showed up this game. I think the offense did a really good job, and so did special teams. The coverage on kicks was amazing. I had a good feeling about it the whole way.
ESQ: The Jaguars compiled 357 yards of offense, yet they only scored three points. How’d that happen?
M: Our defense was explosive the whole game, but in the red zone, we were really on. Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes I am in awe of, nothing gets past them. We shut down Maurice Jones-Drew like no other. The fans were awesome, and the team was really excited. On one kickoff, Delaney Walker was talking to the crowd, saying “I can’t hear you!” I think the difference is, they’re not thinking about the playoffs so much as winning game-by-game. Of course, it could have been the cheerleaders! It was nice having warmer weather, not freezing our bones off. I think that got the crowd more involved.
ESQ: With 232 passing yards, two TDs, and no interceptions, Smith had probably his best game of the season. Is he finally fulfilling the promise the Niners saw when they drafted him first overall five years ago?
M: Yeah, definitely. When you enter the league as a quarterback, there’s a lot of weight on your shoulders. He’s gotten the trust of the team and some confidence, and he’s gone out and made plays. He also had zero sacks. You gotta thank the O-line, but that’s him, too, like when he moved way out of the pocket to hit Frank Gore for a touchdown. Out of the shotgun, he’s better. He’s gained my trust. That’s really important in case, you know, I get in the game…
ESQ: Speaking of high draft picks, Michael Crabtree’s done pretty well. But how much better would he be if he’d signed before the season, rather than holding out and missing the first five games?
M: Athleticism-wise, Crabtree’s been awesome. I don’t know if you can say, “What if?” He’s making plays, and he’ll get better as the years go on. He had to learn the entire offense, learn his routes, and coming from college to the NFL, it’s a lot faster game, and everybody’s good. He’s done really well in a short amount of time.
ESQ: Which player has surprised you the most this year?
M: With Coach Singletary’s intense attitude, I don’t expect anyone to not do what they’re supposed to do. But Vernon Davis has definitely improved. He has tremendous athletic ability; I think he ran a 4.3 at the combine. He’s grown a lot, he’s found his niche with the team, he’s a completely changed person, and he’s been fulfilling his potential the last few games.
ESQ: Is Singletary the most badass coach to ever rock a turtleneck, or does it just look that way on TV?
M: I was watching him tonight. He does a couple laps around the field before each game to get warmed up. And he could still play. If someone said, “Look, the team needs you on the field,” he could throw on a helmet and pads and take people out. He’s in great shape, and he can wear whatever the heck he wants. I don’t think anyone questions anything he does. He’s a phenomenal person all-around. And I mean, Belichick’s cutoff sleeves, the hoodie that’s way too big for him — he cracks me up, that guy.
ESQ: In the second half, the only scoring came on Joe Nedney’s field goal. Do you find it difficult to cheer during a punt-fest?
M: No, because I love defense. I love watching the guys stop people. If there were no scores and our defense played their butts off and it ended zero-zero, I’d still be cheering as much as if it we were up 45-zip. Defense is when we get the crowd involved, so I’d rather be on defense anyway.
ESQ: Do you find it difficult to cheer in high-heeled boots?
M: I don’t wear heels all that often, so it took some getting used to. But they look good with the uniform, so I’ll throw the boots on any day. The heel is about three inches, and I was like a baby giraffe trying to walk around in them my first season. When it was windy, I thought I might fall over.
ESQ: Ever fallen on the field?
M: In college three or four years ago, I fell off the top of my pyramid, landed on my head, and had to be stretchered off. They thought I broke my neck, but I just had a really bad concussion. I went to a restaurant last year, and this family was like, “Is that her? Is that her?” as I was walking by. This woman grabbed my arm and said, “Did you cheer for Fresno State? Are you the girl that fell?” I was like, “Um, yeah.” And she said, “We’re so glad you’re okay!” It was sweet, but pretty embarrassing that these people remembered me for that. I’m the only one on the team with curly hair, so I stand out.
ESQ: The Niners have lost five games by seven or fewer points, including by three at the Vikings and by four at the Colts, who have a combined 21-1 record. The season’s not over yet, but is there any sense of “What if?”
M: I can’t really say that, because once something happens, you move on. I look at it like, “Let’s win the next game.” Losing in the final seconds to the Vikings was heartbreaking, but you can’t dwell on the past. I think we actually have a really good chance at the playoffs. We have Seattle, then Arizona. We seem to be getting better and better, and I think we’ll play harder knowing the playoffs are in reach. And we also have the Lions. I have a really good feeling about the next few games. Whether it’s in the first quarter or the fourth quarter, I think we’ll find a way to get it done.
