Like the rest of Northern California, the Sacramento region will be riveted by the 49ers today.

But even if you don't care about pro sports or that the winner of today's game between the 49ers and New York Giants will go to the Super Bowl, there are many reasons to watch.

After eight dismal seasons, the 49ers have returned to prominence by embracing can-do optimism over small-minded thinking.

They healed a family rift that was undermining the franchise and had effectively cut it off from its glory years in the 1980s and '90s.

The 49ers also have redeemed good men such as quarterback Alex Smith, whose talent had been wasted by a carousel of ineffective coaches who undermined Smith as he was pummeled by opponents, fans and the media.

This team, which once bred innovative coaches who identified obscure players and turned them into superstars, had become rife with dysfunction and insecurity.

The human weaknesses that prevent people from getting along – which divide families, corporations and communities – had undone one of the signature brands in American sports.

How interesting that the 49ers began flourishing in a violent sport when Jed York, team president and CEO, extended his hand in fellowship to key people who could help him.

Only 30, York had been handed the team by his parents before he was ready. At first, he acted like the proverbial kid born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His attempts at talking tough inspired derision from the public and the media.

But it turns out York was smart enough to know what he didn't know. He brought in good people to run the football operation.

And he was bighearted enough to reach out to his uncle Eddie DeBartolo, bringing him back into the fold years after DeBartolo had built a 49ers franchise that won five Super Bowls in the 1980s and '90s.

DeBartolo had lost the franchise to legal troubles and a family feud with his sister Denise and her husband, John York – Jed's parents.

For several years, the elder Yorks seemed driven by antipathy for DeBartolo, and they turned the 49ers away from everything they had been before.

The more the 49ers lost, the more the elder Yorks dug in while hiring coaches who abandoned the 49ers philosophy of precision and professionalism over emotion and bravado.

Individuals matter in life, and it mattered a great deal when York hired Jim Harbaugh to be his coach a year ago.

A former NFL quarterback, Harbaugh gave quarterback Smith a chance while the media and fans scoffed. He built up Smith's confidence game by game while bringing discipline to an already talented core of players.

But most important of all, Harbaugh is a positive thinker.

Last week, he rebuffed media questions that glorified only him. "We haven't had time to think about (our wins.) We're too busy asking questions of ourselves," he said.

A leader who leads by making people better stands in stark contrast to, say, the candidates running for the presidency – men who stand apart on stages while pronouncing how only they can make things better.

After each game, Harbaugh shouts: "Who has it better than us?!"

"Nobody!" comes the response.

It's a positive affirmation of success that everyone can share. It's also a challenge to stay positive, no matter what.

It figures then that Jed York's Twitter avatar became a picture of him as a little boy standing next to his uncle Eddie and the late Bill Walsh, the 49ers' legendary coach, back in the 49ers' glory days.

And it's not by accident that the team's proud past was connected to its hopeful present when Smith threw a winning touchdown pass last weekend to Vernon Davis to steal victory from the New Orleans Saints.

Damned for their untapped potential for years, Smith and Davis had made the plays of their lives as an entire region exploded in delirium.

Davis burst into tears as his teammates mobbed him and Harbaugh embraced him, whispering something personal in his ear.

The first person Jed York called afterward was uncle Eddie, who will be today's honorary 49ers captain.

It's a great story about people coming together and how glory comes to those who open their hearts to one another.

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Call The Bee's Marcos Breton, (916) 321-1096.

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