Getty The 49ers line up against the Cowboys during the wildcard round on January 16, 2022.
Teams across the NFL landscape have found new ways to elevate its schedule release game over the years, including the San Francisco 49ers.
Gone are the days of simply waiting for a newspaper article to see a teams’ schedule, wait for the Athlon Sports’ NFL preview to surface in the magazine aisle or pulling up to the nearby liquor store and finding the upcoming schedule plastered on the wall just to see who each team will be playing against.
Now, teams have raised up their creative juices with the schedule — some going with a popular television show theme. And that’s where the 49ers come in with their “Fight for what is ours” theme.
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49ers Roll With ‘Yellowstone’ Theme
The 49ers channeled their inner Dutton family for this one.
The franchise went with the same imagery, graphics and theme song from the popular Paramount Network TV show “Yellowstone” that stars Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser, Josh Lucas and Kelly Reilly for their 2022 schedule release.
Using an assist from Adobe, the 49ers’ version of the show’s intro starts out with the Golden Gate bridge as the backdrop in yellow orange and black coloring. Then, without revealing names, the 49ers use images of the Windy City (Week One announcement), a Seahawk (Week 2 announcement for 49ers’ home opener), the Rocky Mountains (Week 3 road battle) and even a dolphin coming out of the ocean (to announce Week 13 contest) as part of their near two-minute video seen below.
The reactions flooded from there.
Fans & Media React to Yellowstone Theme
The reactions were generally mixed among NFL members and 49er fans.
Mike Freeman of USA Today praised the theme and creativity of the 49ers’ film work.
“This is genuinely amazing. Creative as hell,” Freeman tweeted.
The NFL Australia Twitter account immediately identified the closet fandom for Yellowstone on the 49ers’ side.
The @49ers are fans of Yellowstone in this one t.co/Z6KkRaEEIy
Jennifer Lee Chan, 49ers columnist and beat reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area, gave a two-word praise on Twitter for the theme.
“Nicely done,” was what Chan tweeted as her reaction.
One fan not only enjoyed the video, but compared it to another hit TV show on HBO.
“I actually liked this video. Gave me WestWorld vibes,” the fan chimed in.
Another fan, though, took one glance of the coloring and it gave him a memory of the North Complex fire of 2020 that blanketed the Bay Area with a similar sky.
“The orange sky in this reminds me of the literal orange sky in the Bay Area back in 2020,” the fan posted.
Not everyone, though, was pleased with the final result. And numerous 49er fans let their blunt side be known as their reaction to the video.
“This is the worst schedule reveal I’ve ever seen, I don’t even know who we’re playing for half the weeks. Was the pirate ship the Raiders or the Bucs??” was what 49er fan Ben Toland shared in the 49ers’ mentions. “Sorry, but this ain’t it. Have you seen the Chargers reveal?? Where’s that kind of creativity? Do better.”
Another fan named “East Bay Chris” called the theme “depressing.”
“Haven’t watched something this depressing since the 49ers last Super Bowl appearance,” he said.
There was also a tumbleweed cameo, which left some fans mocking the 49ers’ video.
There was one fan, though, who blasted the reveal but shared high optimism afterwards.
“Weak schedule reveal but let’s make up for it with a strong schedule result,” the fan said.