SAN FRANCISCO -- So why wasn't there world peace? Why didn't everyone in America win the lottery and get laid by movie stars? Why didn't things start working again; why wasn't the freeway rebuilt, and why weren't people gentler and kinder and more willing to buy the house a drink?
Maybe it's because when the 49ers' 21-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys was made official Sunday, it was still Nov. 13 and there were still 13 weeks before the Super Bowl.
But as a fallback what-the-hell position for the 49ers, beating the Cowboys would be enough.
World peace? Lotto? Maybe after the holidays.
The 49ers got a big game in a big game from the always maligned Steve Young. More than that, though, their defense was so good that Young was able to have his big game make the difference.
Take, for example, the words of safety Merton Hanks, who intercepted goal-line passes, prevented a third touchdown with a last-man-before-the-goal tackle and was easily the best player on a very crowded field. He understood how the previous three games against Dallas were lost, how this game was won, and that very little of either revolved around Steve Young.
"Steve has taken so much crap for those games, and he wasn't the reason why we lost," Hank said. "The defense lost those games. Today, that didn't happen."
And Hank had an explanation for that, too. "When I hit my knees last night, I asked the Lord for five turnovers," he said with a salesman smile. "We got three. That was good enough for me. I'm thankful."
Hanks' second interception was the killer. He cut in front of Dallas tight end Jay Novacek with 6:10 to play to kill what was surely going to be Dallas' game-tying drive. He made the play on a second and goal from the 49ers' seven, a play which would normally be left to the devices of Emmitt Smith. That Smith did not get the ball on that play explained in large part why the 49ers won the game at all.
The 49ers and Dallas are now tied atop the NFC with 8-2 records, and the 49ers hold the tie-breaker for home field in the case the two meet again in late January.
The game was also important for the 49ers because of its psychological throw-weight. Win, and they are part of a field of two. Lose and they are no better than Philadelphia or Minnesota or Green Bay: intriguing but flawed pretenders.
And most amazing of all, they did it with defense. The team that finesse built stood the Cowboys up and bent them back. In the second half alone, Smith could only gain 26 yards, and quarterback Troy Aikman completed only 9 of 21 throws. Until their final meaningless scoring drive, in fact, the Cowboys did not cross midfield.
"This was a defense that was rebuilt for reason and one reason only -- Dallas," Hanks said. "Championships aren't won in November. They're won in January. But with the way we played today, we have the confidence that we can beat anybody. This was the game we all aimed at and we played our best game. Everybody did."
"We played as well as a defense around here has played in some time," head coach George Seifert said. "We had a few breakdowns here and there, like you always have, but for the most part I think this was a superb effort against a great team. We have reason to be very proud."
Proud to the point of enjoying the way Hanks' second interception destroyed the Cowboys. The 49ers had stacked their defense after the half to force Smith inside, and yet Smith being the game's leading automatic teller seemed the obvious choice to carry the ball on the fateful play. Instead, for reasons that Dallas coach Barry Switzer should long ponder, Smith was used as a blocker.
"We were playing man-to-man on that play and I had Emmitt," Hanks said. But when he stayed in to block, I just sort of floated off and played Troy's eyes. He put it right there. Throws a nice ball, too, soft and easy to catch."
It was indeed the play of the day in an afternoon full of them, played before the largest crowd in 49er history and hyped to the point that no one in the stands needed the extra buzz that comes from a good brandy.
And they got everything they wanted. It was the first really big game the 49ers had won at home since their last NFC title victory, and they enjoyed it in ways that beating the Rams simply do not provide.
Still it is only November, and the 49ers are not yet in the clear. Nobody knows that better than Young, who understands that he has two choices in this life -- to win the Super Bowl or forever be condemned as the Danny White of the 90s.
"I don't like to get involved in all that psychological stuff about whether it quiets my critics," he said. "All I know is this was a big game for us and about 15 guys made big plays to help us win. This wasn't a championship game, but you have to play like this to get to one."
For the first time in his NFL career, Steve Young could say that with a smile on his face.