Giants vs. 49ers: The San Francisco Faithful, Rain and Super Bowls

The air was full of January and throughout the streets of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area there was a dazzling familiar energy: The San Francisco 49ers were one game away from the Super Bowl.

This Sunday, the 49ers are scheduled to host the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game.

The 49ers enter game on the heels of a dramatic upset victory over the New Orleans Saints.  It was a game that brought that ever-elusive signature moment from Alex Smith and Vernon Davis.  This moment was ultimately dubbed "The Catch III."

Now, as the clouds finally gather over Candlestick Park, the San Francisco 49ers prepare themselves for yet another phase in their journey towards NFL immortality.

49ers head coach and potential Coach of the Year Jim Harbaugh applauded the fans in his press conference.  He said that they turned Candlestick into a "fortress" and this week was shaping up to be just as impenetrable.  

Across Market Street, Geary, Columbus and Mission, the air of greatness was beginning to reemerge—49ers hats, shirts, sweatshirts, pictures, flags, as far as the eye could see.

"Niners baby!" was the new greeting.  No "Hello" or "Hi," but simply, "Go Niners!"

It was the kind of energy that had been lost for the better part of a decade from this franchise and their fans.

A fanbase coined the Faithful, after years and years of just abysmal football, was now poised and ready for attack—as was the rain.

The forecast for Sunday's NFC Championship game is calling for rain.  Not too much, but just enough to muddy the already-softened field of Candlestick Park.  

Sloppy memories of playoff lore begin to surface and the Faithful will proudly prepare their rain gear for Sunday's festivities.  

The bars and homes across the Bay Area will be packed with blissful and childlike anticipation as the Faithful await another victory and another Super Bowl berth in what has so far been the most surprising 49ers season since 1981.

Meanwhile, the team is buckled down and in preparation for the New York Giants.

The Giants are hot, cocky and downright fearless.  The 49ers, already having beaten the Giants in Week 10, are ready to defend their home field and march to their sixth Super Bowl appearance.  

Both teams have nothing to lose.  Neither team was really supposed to be in this position.  Yet here they are.

Throw all the pregame talk out of the window.

Throw all the historic playoff games between both San Francisco and New York out of the window.

Throw everything out.

This is a battle between two benchmark franchises.  This is a battle for the NFC.  This is a battle for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

The teams know it.  The coaches know it.  The fans know it.

And as the game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. PT this Sunday, the world will know it.