It goes through … well … the road.
asserted
It → go → road
The contingent of 50 or so large, lumbering men who wear red and gold on Sundays had better get used to hotel beds and airplane seats.
asserted
who → wear → beds
That is where they’ll get the lion’s share of their rest over the remaining nine weeks of the regular season.
asserted
they → get → season
On the other side, the ultimate reward: the possibility of winning the Super Bowl without leaving California after Jan. 10 if they wrap up home-field advantage.
asserted
they → win → advantage
But first, they’ve got to get there.
asserted
they → get → ?
And that will mean taking care of business away from the creature comforts of home.
asserted
that → mean → home
Six of the 49ers’ final nine games will take place away from Levi’s Stadium, starting this week at AT&T Stadium against the Cowboys.
asserted
Six → take → Cowboys
When the team boarded its charter flight to Dallas this weekend, they (hopefully) had more than a week’s worth of socks and underwear in their suitcases.
asserted
they → board → suitcases
From there, the Niners go on to Colorado Springs, where they will practice at altitude to prepare for next Sunday night’s game in Mexico City (elevation: 7,350 feet).
asserted
they → go → City
A typical NFL road trip wouldn’t net more than two nights’ worth of hotel points.
asserted
trip → net → points
The 49ers will spend the next eight nights in strange beds spread across three cities.
asserted
49ers → spend → cities
(To which a chorus of MLB and NBA players laugh, “Ha, so what!”)
asserted
chorus → laugh → players
“Just being away for a while, I think adds up,” coach Kyle Shanahan said.
asserted
Shanahan → think → while
“Just guys being away from the routine of their families and things like that, so that usually gets old by the end and everyone’s screaming to get back.
asserted
everyone → get → end
The 49ers have done this once before this season.
asserted
49ers → do → season
They flew halfway around the world and got to Australia a full week in advance of their season opener against the Rams.
asserted
They → fly → Rams
That turned out well enough, didn’t it?
asserted
it → turn → ?
“Anytime you change the elements of stuff like going to Mexico City, just the altitude and everything, it’s just good to get acclimated,” Shanahan said.
asserted
Shanahan → change → City
“Going to Australia was good because of the time difference, so we had to do that.
asserted
we → go → that
Going to Mexico City, just how high the altitude is, it helps us going to Colorado for a week.
asserted
it → go → week
“It’s things that we feel helps us a little bit during the game which makes it worth it, but it does get old to be away for that long.”
asserted
it → ’ → long
Shanahan had better get used to it.
asserted
Shanahan → get → it
His guys won’t get more than one week at home in between road trips the rest of the season.
asserted
guys → get → season
It’s Mexico City and back to Santa Clara, and on to New York, and back to Santa Clara, and off to Los Angeles and Kansas City, and back to Santa Clara before wrapping up the regular season in Arizona.
asserted
It → ’ → Arizona
“I think the challenge is how present can you be in the moment?” linebacker Fred Warner said.
asserted
Warner → think → moment
This was the deal with the devil, or well, the NFL schedule makers, that the team signed up for, albeit begrudgingly, when it was able to spend almost a full month in Santa Clara following its globe-trotting start to the season.
asserted
it → sign → season
Shanahan hasn’t tried to hide his disdain.
asserted
Shanahan → try → disdain
In theory, the three straight home games they enjoyed after getting back from Australia eased their acclimation back to Pacific time.
asserted
they → enjoy → time
But it also guaranteed a daunting back half of the season.
asserted
it → guarantee → season
“I mean, three home games is irrelevant.
asserted
games → mean → ?
That doesn’t mean anything,” Shanahan said back when the schedule was released in the spring.
asserted
schedule → mean → spring
“It means you’re going to have three more road games in December and January.
asserted
you → mean → December
So that’s my answer on three home games.”
asserted
that → ’ → games
The 49ers, at least, can take some comfort that they took full advantage of the front-loaded home slate.
asserted
they → take → slate
They enter this stretch with just one blemish on their record, a commanding lead in the NFC West and in control of their own fate for the No. 1 overall seed.
asserted
They → enter → seed
Mostly due to their intercontinental travel, the 49ers will log more miles in the air than any other NFL team this season — a staggering 37,862, per the NFL.
asserted
49ers → log → NFL
They don’t seem to mind.
asserted
They → seem → ?
It’s not just the 49ers Faithful who travel well.
asserted
who → ’ → ?
Under Shanahan, the fans who paint opposing stadiums red have been just as likely to see a win as anybody attending a game at Levi’s Stadium.
asserted
who → paint → Stadium
The 49ers have racked up a 44-34 record away from home since 2017, tied for the NFL’s seventh-best road record.
asserted
49ers → rack → record
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
