King Kaufman's Sports Daily

Michelle Kwan cheers as NFL votes 49ers into NFC title game. Plus: How to define a catch.

Read more: Sports, Football, NFL, King Kaufman, NFL Playoffs, Instant replay, Sports Daily

Jan. 18, 2006 | The San Francisco 49ers came within a two-point conversion of beating the Seattle Seahawks in November, losing 27-25. Now they'll get another chance in the NFC Championship Game thanks to the NFL Selection Committee, which voted them into the game ahead of the Carolina Panthers.

"It's true the 49ers didn't win a lot this season," said committee chairman Bob Horen of the team that went 4-12 and finished last in the NFC West. "But the committee took into account their storied history, their divisional rivalry with and near-win over Seattle and their season-ending two-game win streak. And after a healthy discussion, we made the determination that the 49ers would be a better title game entry than Carolina.

"The Panthers played the Seahawks last year and lost to them, too," Horen noted.

The 49ers, who also got smoked by the Seahawks 41-3 in December, aren't a lock yet to play in Sunday's game. They'll have to convince a five-member subcommittee on Friday night that they are breathing and able to smile for the cameras and that they haven't had any of their advertising contracts canceled, or they'll be unceremoniously dumped.

"I feel bad for the Panthers, of course," said 49ers coach Mike Nolan. "But this is the way our sport works, and I'm sure if they stick around long enough they'll benefit from the 'make it up as you go along' spirit that's hurt them this time, but that makes football so darn unpredictable and exciting."

"We're disappointed, but we understand," said Panthers star Julius Peppers through a plastered-on smile.

"You won't hear any of us badmouthing the deal," Peppers said, "because we're all taught from the time we're 4 years old that we have to be graceful and gracious and to smile all the time and never say a harsh word, because if we do the judges will remember that and our touchdowns will only count for four points instead of six. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go rip the stuffing from a Teddy bear with my teeth."

Nolan made a similar point. "It probably sounds strange to people who don't follow the NFL that winning on the field doesn't guarantee you a chance to advance to the next round of competition for the championship," he said, "but those people are ignorant fools who aren't smart enough to 'get' the beauty of our sport."

Figure skater Michelle Kwan cheered the decision, for some reason. "I'm just so happy for the 49ers," she said. "It's great that the NFL has begun to understand that the only fair way to run a sport is to have winners decided by highly skilled backroom dealers, not leave results up to the whims of competition."

Next page: So how should the NFL define a catch?