One half of the 49ers’ faithful was going wild. The other half, the ones who saw the flags, were attempting to silence the chaos in hope of hearing the official’s explanation. Time stood still, as did the hearts of all those eager to end this incredible game, 39-38.

Like an elementary school teacher releasing her students for recess, the referees made their decision to end the game in a 49ers victory, allowing the San Francisco fans to celebrate.

Ever notice how a good movie takes your emotions and slings them back and forth until you feel faint? The movie makes you laugh and cry. Fittingly, last Sunday’s 49ers game did that and much more.

The following breakdown of Sunday’s game will walk you through the moments and atmosphere of the 49ers 24-point comeback to defeat the New York Giants in the first round of the playoffs.

The competition featured numerous ups and downs. I will go through a handful of these instances and try and define the mood of both the crowd and myself. Each juncture is designated by an arrow pointing up (moments when things looked good) or an arrow pointing down (when times looked bad).

/: Pre-Game Festivities

I couldn’t believe it. Ebay had actually treated me to a brilliant view from the corner of the end zone, just four rows off the field. Here I was, at the biggest football game I’d ever been to, in the best seats I’d ever had.

We disappeared into a sea of red, white, and unfortunately too much blue. Appropriately, quite a bit of Giant fans dressed in blue found their way into our general area. Their section seemed far too close to our seats.

But there were slyer predators amongst us. Dressed as if they were just regular people, two tasteless Giants fans took their seat to my left. At first I didn’t take offense to it. I mean hey, they paid their money and don’t seem too threatening. Sadly, I was being a tad too optimistic. These guys drove me nuts!

I had to get serious though. The game was about to begin. The Navy Seals parachuted into Candlestick, the anthem was sung and the players were introduced. This place was rocking and kickoff was seconds away!

/: Giants ball. (10:19 in 1st quarter) 2nd-and-4 at SF 33. Kerry Collins’ pass intended for Ron Dayne intercepted by Julian Peterson at SF 24.

The Giants offense started the game firing on all cylinders. They looked poised and were making quick work of the 49ers secondary. Giants quarterback Kerry Collins had plenty of time in the pocket and moved his team 43 yards, while controlling the clock for almost five minutes.

But then a spark! A quick 5-yard pass slipped through the hands of power back Ron Dayne. In what seemed like slow motion, the ball was tipped five times until it was finally gobbled up by linebacker Julian Peterson. The crowd was given life and the 49ers offense took the field.

/:

49ers ball. (10:10 in 1st quarter) 1st-and-10 at SF 24. Jeff Garcia hits Owens at the SF 34. Owens bounces off big hits, drags a defender for a few yards and is gone. Touchdown. 49ers 7, Giants 0.

76-yard Terrell Owens touchdowns can be very harmful to the hands. I clapped so hard it called for taking off my watch to avoid wrist damage. I was calling for game, set, match only five minutes into the game.

As I finished my touchdown dance, I looked over to the left to see my Giants neighbor looking quite distraught. It was quite a moment.

/:

Giants ball. (0:22 in 1st quarter) 2nd-and-12 at SF 12. Kerry Collins passing Touchdown to Amani Toomer for 12 yards. 49ers 7, Giants 7.

The Giants moved the ball 65-yards in 11 plays. A chilling preview of what was to come throughout most of the day. Again, Collins made it look easy as he sat back and picked apart our secondary.

Have you ever seen that commercial, where a Miami Dolphins fan jumps up cheering in a in a bar filled with Jets fans? My neighbor in the seat to my left jumped up looking just as pitiful. I watched his celebration in disgust, but kept my mouth shut. We had a long way to go.

/:

The score was knotted at 14, and the 49ers had taken the momentum after their score. With 3:05 left in the second half and looking at 4th-and-17 from their own 35, the Giants were forced to punt. Ultimately though, they would get the ball right back. 49ers punt returner Cedric Wilson muffed the catch at the SF 15-yard line. The Giants would then recover the football at the SF 8-yard line. One play later, Kerry Collins threw a touchdown strike to Amani Toomer. 49ers 14, Giants 21.

When Wilson lost the ball in the sun, it seemed like it blinded any hope of victory. It’d be fitting that a special teams blunder would end the 49ers season.

From there until later in the 3rd quarter, the atmosphere in the stadium changed. Fans were no longer standing, peanut guys lost that special pitch in their voice, and my hot dog just didn’t taste the same.

It looked that way on the field too. After a Jeff Garcia interception, the Giants quickly marched back into the end zone to go up 28-14.

My neighbor the Giants fan was really starting to infuriate me now. He stood up with his hands straight in the air yelling like he was in New York. This guy really needed to be lectured about proper fan etiquette.

/:

With just over four minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Matt Bryant kicked a 21-yard field goal to cap a 24-point run by the Giants. The Giants lead had grown to 38-14.

“Hey Villanova is playing Memphis,” my buddy told me as he watched college basketball on his handheld TV, “…it’s a pretty good game.”

“Oh yah?” At that point, it felt better to focus our attention anywhere else but on the field. That’s when the bickering between us began.

“You know, you are the reason they lost,” he murmured. “You jinxed it in your little column by saying they were going to win.”

I would not stand for this though. “Well, any San Francisco Giants game you went to last year they lost. You think you could make these Giants losers too!”

Our squabbling could not compete with what was going on around us. Three guys had just been escorted out of the stadium for throwing blows just two rows in front of us. Worst thing about it was that all of these men were 49ers fans. We just cannot have any 49er-on-49er violence in a game like this. These guys would miss quite the show though. The excitement began just a couple of minutes later.

/:

49ers ball. (2:10 in 3rd quarter) 3rd-and-4 at SF 26. Jeff Garcia hits Owens for a 26-yard touchdown. The same duo then connects on a 2-point conversion. Giants 38, 49ers 22.

Hey, wait a second! This is when you start doing the math and imagining all the wild scenarios: * Two touchdowns, with two, 2-point conversions (To tie the game).

* Touchdown, but a failed 2-point conversion, a field goal, and then a touchdown (To tie the game).

* Touchdown with the successful 2-point conversion, a field goal, and another touchdown (To win by just a point).

/:

After scoring again, and again converting on another two point conversion, the 49ers made another huge stop and took over after the punt at their own 18. They drove 74 yards over 5 minutes and ended up kicking a 25-yard field goal. The score was now Giants 38, 49ers 33

“Don’t even say anything,” I yelled over the deafening crowd. “We are not going to jinx it!”

I did, however, enjoy reading the nervous look on the face of my neighbor the Giants fan.

/:

Following a missed field goal on a bad snap by the Giants, the 49ers took over possession. Fingers crossed, they marched 68-yards, on nine plays, in just two minutes. A 13-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Garcia to Tai Streets capped the drive. A missed 2-point conversion left the 49ers with a single-point advantage. 49ers 39, Giants 38.

There are times in our lives where we get embarrassed by doing certain things. Jumping up and down, hugging random strangers, all while yelling and screaming would usually be deemed as awkward, to say the least. But when a potential game-winning touchdown is scored, you can throw all of that out the window.

Meet Bubba, the 49ers fan a row behind me — my new best friend.

The improbable had actually happened. The 49ers had come back from a 24-point deficit.

/:

Hold the celebration. There was still a minute left for the Giants to get in prime field position for a game-winning field goal. A short kick and a good return gave the Giants excellent field position at their own 48-yard line. The Giants quickly went to work and with six seconds left and found themselves a 40-yard field goal away from stealing this game back from the 49ers. Giants kicker Matt Bryant lined up for the kick…

I had a queasy feeling in my stomach all afternoon, but now I was frozen — terrified. If this kick is nailed through those uprights, all this was for nothing. Just one big scam!

I sat gripping the bottom of my seat. Afraid to look, I dropped my head into my folded hands… timeout! The 49ers strategy to freeze the kicker didn’t help my nerves too much either.

When the kicker lined up to kick the would-be game winner, I knew I had to do something. So I yelled. I yelled so loud that I too could be part of a deafening 49ers crowd all hoping for the same result.

It felt as if my entire livelihood was depending on this one kick. I stood still, awaiting my sentence.

/:

A bad snap! The holder couldn’t get the ball down in time! He bootlegged to the right side of the field recoiling from would-be tacklers. He launched up a prayer towards the end zone… incomplete!

Penalty flags were thrown. What had at first looked like pass interference against the 49ers was ruled ineligible downfield. The 49ers declined the penalty. This wild one was finally over.

The mass of 49ers’ faithful became a blend of passionate ovation and worried faces. Immediately I thought that this was pass interference, but I also knew that a number 69 (an offensive lineman) would be ineligible. It turned out the next day though, the lineman had been eligible and the 49ers had caught a break. The 49ers would edge the Giants, 39-38.

The massive cheers migrated down to the opposite end zone (where my seat was). Let the mayhem begin! If you weren’t hugging a stranger before, you were now.

I just couldn’t shake my sense of disbelief. We had actually done it. We had done what seemed so impossible just a short time ago.

I was convinced the 49ers had just won the Super Bowl!

Post-game thoughts:

To me, that last second prayer will always be remembered as an incomplete pass. The lineman was falling down to the left, while the ball was trailing right. Even in the case that it was caught, the pass still would’ve landed well short of the end zone, thus ending the game on a tackle in front of the goal-line.

Ultimately, the Giants lost the game on their own by packing it in too early. It was not as if they lost the game by making a tremendous play that was taken away by the officials. They lost the game on a mistake and tried to recover with a fluke play. They didn’t deserve to be bailed out by the referee.

The conversation for the rest of the night had nothing to do with our game against the Buccaneers coming up in seven days. We reminisced on what we had just witnessed. Not just the second greatest comeback in NFL history, but a game that took a weary crowd and rejuvenated it. A game that proved that the same magic the Giants rode all the way to the World Series, has yet to leave the city by the bay.

Oh and my Giants neighbor — well, I simply turned to him, shook his hand and told him, “Hey man, you should’ve known the Giants never win at the ‘Stick.”