Our View: Go Niners!

San Francisco — City of Champions.

That unofficial title isn't exactly synonymous with the usual images of Haight Ashbury, liberal politicians and debates over public nudity in the City by the Bay.

In rural locales like Yuba and Sutter counties, the eye-rolling refrain of "there they go again" frequently accompanies the latest quirky issue in San Francisco.

But there they are — the San Francisco 49ers today on the verge of joining the Pittsburgh Steelers as the winningest Super Bowl team of all time with six titles. This comes after the San Francisco Giants last year won their second World Series title in three years.

So if the Niners win today's matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, the city that banned Happy Meals can as much as anyplace else claim the designation of City of Champions.

Yuba-Sutter doesn't have much in common with San Francisco.

Here it's farmland, gun rights advocates and enough conservatives for two Tea Party organizations. There it's plastic bag bans, gay rights parades and a majority of Barack Obama supporters.

Yuba-Sutter isn't exactly a suburb of the Bay Area, and, sure, the number of former Beale Air Force Base personnel who locate here bring a conglomeration of sports team allegiances.

But there is definitely more local buzz when a Bay Area team reaches a title game. Super Bowl Sunday is always a good excuse for parties, but when it's the Niners (or, we suppose, Oakland Raiders) there is a little extra incentive to show your team colors.

It is always striking, when you attend a Niners or Giants game in San Francisco, the number of people from different walks of life who are there. It's a cornucopia of different income levels, hair lengths and clothing styles.

So when Niners fans sit down today to watch the Super Bowl, it doesn't matter whether you are a gun-toting farmer from Yuba-Sutter or a liberal green activist from San Francisco.

It's still, "go Niners."