Giving Their Own Football Opinions

Being a die-hard San Francisco 49er fan doomed to live my remaining days in Los Angeles, I have come to accept the fact that I am virtually surrounded by the enemy. I have even learned to tolerate a certain degree of anti-San Francisco bias in the Los Angeles media, especially from your Bob Oates.

However, when I see an article (Jan. 3) in which Mr. Oates doesn’t include the 49ers as one of the top 10 teams in the NFL, I am convinced that he has lost any semblance of objectivity. How can Mr. Oates exclude the 49ers when they finished with a 10-6 record despite injuries to their top two quarterbacks? Even Mr. Oates must realize that the 49ers defeated his ninth-ranked team (Philadelphia), annihilated his seventh-ranked team (Detroit) and would have made the playoffs but for a Hail Mary pass by . . . Billy Joe Tolliver?

What’s next for L.A. Oates--a Super Bowl prediction for the Rams?

DAVID BAMBERGER

Mar Vista