Rowing to the Super Bowl? GB Olympian Mark Hunter is a 49ers Fan

Olympic gold and silver medalist Mark Hunter knows a thing or two about rowing, but his appreciation of sports goes beyond boats and oars, extending nearly half way around the world to the San Francisco 49ers. As Hunter (who just arrived in New Orleans) details in his most recent column for the London Evening Standard entitled, "The 49 reasons why I'm really living the dream," he's been a Niners fan since the late 80s, when San Francisco visited Wembley to take on the Miami Dolphins in a preseason game—Hunter got to meet some of the players, and later decided to do whatever it took to keep tabs on his favorite team (including staying up into the wee hours to watch the games live with a five- to eight-hour time difference).

While many rowers don't often look beyond their own sport, it can be very important and useful to have a sense for the kind of commitment and dedication that it takes to perform at the highest level of any endeavor, as we've discussed here before. So, whether or not you are a fan of professional sports, let alone American football, Sunday's Super Bowl XLVII will showcase some of the most athletically gifted people on the planet, coached by two brothers with a 'team first' mindset. As athletes and as coaches, we must constantly ask ourselves, what can we learn from our peers?

And, it wouldn't be RR if we didn't throw out a prediction. Having grown up a Niners fan myself, I admit I'm biased to favor the red and gold, but given the strength of the 49ers on both sides of the ball, I'm looking for a 31-24 victory for San Francisco.

-Bryan

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