This is the Hot Read. In this column, you’ll find everything and anything I found interesting from the NFL Week 13 Sunday action. There’s the stuff that everyone’s talking about, and the stuff that nobody’s talking about; the stuff that makes football incredible, and the stuff that makes football fun. I hope you enjoy it and learn something cool—and if you do, I hope you’re back next week, when we do it all again.

The Big Thing: The Healthy 49ers Are the NFL’s Best Team

A lot happened this past NFL Sunday. If there’s one thing you need to know, it’s this.

Here are the best 10 offenses in football by expected points added per drive.

Nobody on this list is a big surprise. The 49ers, Cowboys, Dolphins, Bills, and Eagles fill out a clear first tier; the Lions, Rams, Chiefs, Ravens, and Chargers are in the second.

Now here’s the same graphic adjusted to remove Weeks 7 and 8 for the 49ers, when the team was without Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams.

This way, it looks far less like there’s a first tier and a second tier. It looks like there’s a lone leader.

Of course, this isn’t fair to everyone else. The Cowboys have had to play games without Tyron Smith and Tyler Smith, and the Dolphins without Terron Armstead, Robert Hunt, and De’Von Achane. Everyone deals with injuries.

But when the 49ers haven’t been dealing with injuries on offense, they’ve looked better than anyone else this season. In fact, they’re undefeated. They’ve won every game that both Samuel and Williams have started and finished. In Week 6, when they stumbled against the Browns, Samuel went down after just eight snaps; during Weeks 7 (at Minnesota) and 8 (against Cincinnati), both Samuel and Williams were out.

Those three games are the 49ers’ only losses on the season.

In each loss, they scored 17 points; in the nine full games that Samuel and Williams have both played, the 49ers have scored at least 30 points in all but one (in which they scored 27).

Again, I don’t want to give this treatment to just the 49ers. Plenty of teams have looked like juggernauts during stretches of this season. The Cowboys have scored at least 30 in each of their past four: 40 in three of those. The Eagles, before they ran into the 49ers, had won their last five against opponents such as the Dolphins, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Bills. But the 49ers played both of those teams and beat those teams by a combined score of 84-29. Nobody has felt more dominant, against bigger opponents, than this healthy Niners squad.

The Niners just present too many problems for opponents to solve. Every single player that might touch the ball for the 49ers is downright terrifying: Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo. Samuel leads all receivers in yards after catch per reception by over 1.5 yards per catch; Kittle is third among tight ends in YAC per reception, but he’s also third among tight ends in air yards per pass attempt—that’s not at all how that’s supposed to work. Aiyuk is top 20 among wideouts in both catch rate and air yards per target, which is—say it with me—not at all how that’s supposed to work.

When all of these guys are healthy, you just sit there as a defense and take it. There’s nothing else to do. Blow after blow, broken tackle after broken tackle, nifty motion into play-action fake into misdirection screen into actually, it’s a reverse. Also, you’ve just given up a third-down conversion to Jauan Jennings, and there goes Brock Purdy on a scramble. Are you with me? Do you need a minute? Can I get you a glass of water?

As fun as the 49ers offense has been when the plasma cannons have had a full charge, the season is far from over. San Francisco is still a game behind Philadelphia in the hunt for the no. 1 seed, and Detroit and Dallas remain in that mix. The 49ers have a rematch with the Seahawks next week and a huge Week 16 game against Baltimore coming ’round the mountain. They’re still likely to play the Eagles on the road, should they run into them again in the playoffs—and when they see the Eagles (or the Cowboys) again, they will see a motivated and embarrassed team with plenty of adjustments up its sleeves. The hay isn’t in the barn.

But this is the best 49ers offense we’ve seen in the Shanahan era, full stop. The prime Jimmy Garoppolo years had gaudy numbers, but defenses hadn’t caught up with the easy gimmicks yet. Defenses know the ins and outs of this system now, and it doesn’t matter. The 49ers don’t just have gimmicks; they have star talent at every position on offense, including a young quarterback who is improving every week on already impressive play. It’s tough to imagine anything stopping them except a terrible bounce on the merciless injury roulette wheel.

Is there any team you’d like to play less right now than the 49ers?

The Little Things

It’s the little things in football that matter the most—zany plays, small victories, and some laughs. Here’s where you can find them.

1. I DON’T KNOW what refereeing is

The state of NFL officiating deserves a much longer and more nuanced look than is possible in this column. Any take on refereeing given within 24 hours of a game (including this one) is unavoidably held prisoner by the moment and is not given with a sober mind. I will provide that sober take on some future day.

What in heaven’s name was going on at the end of Chiefs-Packers? The Patrick Mahomes unnecessary roughness call was made by an official far away from the play and thrown even though Mahomes was still in bounds at the time of the hit. It happened on the Chiefs sideline, and you don’t even see them call for a flag!

The next play was a called scoop ’n’ score overturned by review that also had a personal foul penalty that disqualified Isiah Pacheco, and I don’t even want to get into that. The play after that …

This league calls the silliest defensive pass interferences. Terrible underthrows in which the receiver makes no effort to catch the ball and only flounders through contact are rewarded with a spot foul. Uncatchable balls are routinely ignored. And this—a piggyback ride—went unflagged.

The subsequent plays included a clock stoppage when the receiver was moving backward on his way out of bounds (should have been a running clock) and a Hail Mary that had a defensive pass interference (though, to be fair, every Hail Mary does).

The Packers deserved this win. They’re 6-6, having knocked off the Lions and Chiefs in recent weeks. I think they’re going to the playoffs, and rightfully so.

But I don’t like watching games in which I have no idea how the officiating will go. As a regular gambler on football, I really don’t like it. The NFL is playing with real fire by letting the quality of officiating continue to deteriorate while also openly partnering with multiple U.S. sportsbooks.

Imagine an end-of-game sequence like this one in the AFC championship game with millions upon millions of dollars on the line. Spooky stuff.

Wait! Sorry, hang on. I just remembered. This was whistled dead for forward progress in Texans-Broncos?! Are you kidding me?!

OK. Done now.

2. ANDREW VAN GINKEL, up to the plate

I can’t imagine the average NFL fan is super dialed in on Van Ginkel right now, but he’s one of the most important players to watch over the next few weeks. Star Dolphins pass rusher Jaelan Phillips popped his Achilles against the Jets in heartbreaking fashion, and to fill those enormous shoes, Miami is relying heavily on Van Ginkel.

Van Ginkel has been almost exclusively a defensive lineman for most of his career, but under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio this year, the Dolphins have experimented with playing him off the ball and in space. Against the Commanders, in the Dolphins’ first game without Phillips, Van Ginkel played no box snaps for only the fourth time this season, and he produced early, with a pick-six and what should have been recorded as a sack in the first half.

The Dolphins defense continues to be one of the best in the league now that it has the intricate Fangio system under its belt. If it can survive the Phillips injury, it’ll remain a force alongside that explosive offense come playoff time.

3. BEATING YOUR DIVISION RIVAL with the same play they almost beat you with

Late in the fourth quarter, the Tennessee Titans tied the game against the Indianapolis Colts with this Will Levis touchdown throw to DeAndre Hopkins.

The design on this throw is cool. The Titans are bluffing a typical pick route—the inside receiver runs to the flat, and the outside receiver runs the slant. The defensive backs accordingly switch responsibilities—but then Hopkins suddenly breaks back inside, and the outside corner is nowhere near close enough to affect the catch point. Excellent design.

The Titans would fail to take the lead when they missed the extra point, and this game would go to overtime. Down three and in need of a touchdown to win it, here’s the concept the Colts dialed up.

That look at all familiar?

4. THE CHARGES against those who willingly watched Jets-Falcons or Chargers-Patriots

Six months of community service and a $5,000 fine. I don’t care if you needed someone to have a great fantasy day to make the playoffs. You better have been born in New York, Atlanta, San Diego, or the greater New England area to have tuned in to these games.

If you or someone you know willingly watched these games, please reach out to me, and I will perform a citizen’s arrest.

The Zag: The College Football Playoff Committee Got It Right

I tend to be a little contrarian. It’s not so much a personal choice as it is an occupational hazard. Here’s where I’ll plant my flag.

OK, so this isn’t an NFL take. But the 2023-24 Selection Committee officially named the four teams for this year’s College Football Playoff, and everyone is furious, so here we go.

These are the four best teams in college football, according to the committee. That sentence was very carefully written, even though at first brush it looks banal. “Four best teams in college football,” is very different from “four most deserving teams in college football.”

The most deserving teams in college football are the teams that had the winningest seasons. Such teams include Washington and Michigan—undefeated power-conference champions who made this year’s playoff. But that designation would also include Florida State, the undefeated ACC champion who was left outside of the playoff.

Florida State was left out for a simple, obvious, and very painful reason: their starting quarterback, Jordan Travis, is out for the rest of the season with a devastating leg injury. Travis, who was squarely in the Heisman race, is one of the best quarterbacks in college football. He is far from the only NFL-caliber player on the Seminoles—WRs Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson; edge rusher Jared Verse; running back Trey Benson. But Travis plays the most important position on the field, and without him—or even backup Tate Rodemaker, who missed the ACC title game with a concussion—Florida State is not nearly as good of a team.

Were it the committee’s job to put the four most deserving teams into the playoff, they would have put Florida State in. But that’s not their job—and if that were the objective of the College Football Playoff, there would not be a committee at all. Rather, there would be an algorithm. All undefeated conference champions would get into the playoff, ranked by strength of schedule. Behind them, all one-loss conference champions would get in, ranked by head-to-head record and then by strength of schedule. It would not even be a little bit hard to do this.

Why, then, has college football adopted a closed-door committee to generate a heuristic ranking? Well, for one, it’s preferable that the best teams get in over the most deserving, because the playoff games will likely be better. For another, it acknowledges that football always comes back to watching the games and making your own judgments—for as many stats as I love to use, it’s a hard sport for stats to encapsulate. But much, much more importantly, is this: it creates debate.

It is unbelievably fun to be angry about things. Perilously so, in fact. It’s tempting to just hop on Twitter—err, X, I suppose—and do it all the time. The regionality and tribalism of college football have always hinged on that reality: that everyone should have at least some argument for their team, and accordingly convince themselves that everyone is out to get them, digging their heels further and further into a rabid fandom the likes of which the NFL barely touches.

So the committee put Alabama, a one-loss conference champion, in above Florida State, a zero-loss conference champion, because Alabama is a better team right now than Florida State by their collective judgment. I’m inclined to agree. You can disagree if you like, and you can yell at me on Twitter as well. You can tell me the committee is intellectually dishonest, because a true interpretation of “four best teams” would have almost certainly included Georgia over Texas or Washington—and I can see that point crystal clear. It’s a frustrating system—and that’s the point.

I feel horrible for Florida State fans and players, all of whom deserved a bid for the national championship and lost it entirely on terrible injury luck. There’s nothing I can say to make that better.

But the committee got it right.

(Mostly Real) Awards

I’ll hand out some awards. Most of them will be real. Some of them won’t be.

That Young Man Can Play Award: Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride

Tight end is a famously challenging position for young players to learn. Rookie tight ends often end up taking a de facto redshirt year by default. Such was the case in 2022 for McBride, who essentially didn’t play until Zach Ertz got injured, ultimately ending the year with 265 yards on 29 catches.

In the last six weeks of this season, McBride has 41 catches for 440 yards and two scores. No tight end has more receptions; George Kittle has one more yard.

McBride has quickly become a favorite target of franchise quarterback Kyler Murray, and with wide receiver Marquise Brown approaching free agency, McBride is establishing himself as the primary target in this offense overall. In Sunday’s 24-10 win over the Steelers, McBride had eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, and led the Cardinals with nine targets. Stock dramatically up for the younger player.

Offensive Rookie of the Year (of the Week): Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta

Everything I just wrote up there about rookie tight ends not producing? Toss that out.

LaPorta has been a godsend for the Detroit Lions. They desperately needed a viable second target to play foil to Amon-Ra St. Brown, and they got more than they bargained for with their second-round pick tight end. After a nine-catch, 140-yard performance in a win over the Saints, LaPorta has 679 yards through 12 games—that total already puts him seventh on the post–Super Bowl leaderboard for rookie tight ends. At 56.6 yards per game, he’s on pace for 962 yards, which would make him only the second rookie in the Super Bowl era to clear 900 receiving yards—Kyle Pitts, who has the record at 1,026 yards, is very much within range.

The Very Much in the Playoff Race Award: The Los Angeles Rams

Don’t look now, but the Rams have a top-10 offense. Sixth in success rate, seventh in EPA per drive. And they’ve been dealing with injuries to key players like Cooper Kupp and Kyren Williams. The obvious things to highlight in this offensive surge are the superlative play of Matthew Stafford, who remains a fearless gunslinger despite his age and injury history, and the emergence of Puka Nacua, who had 139 yards from scrimmage and a score in the Rams’ 36-19 win over the Browns.

One unheralded, but critical key to note: the play of the offensive line. The Rams snagged two new starting guards this offseason: rookie Steve Avila in the second round of the draft, and Kevin Dotson late in training camp via trade with the Steelers. Both have been lights-out, while longtime backup Alaric Jackson (responsible for the best inexplicable screenshot of Sunday’s slate) is holding his own at left tackle.

The Rams have a proven formula on offense and a young defense that’s getting better by the week. They aren’t built like a true contender, but I’d wager they’re a tough out in January.

The Very Much Not Really in the Playoff Race Award: The Pittsburgh Steelers/Cleveland Browns

I simply cannot take 2023 Joe Flacco seriously. He didn’t even play that poorly—for a while there, the Browns were keeping pace with the Rams!—but the Browns are on their fourth starting quarterback, and it’s a player even the Jets passed on. I do not fear this team.

I also cannot take 2023 Mitchell Trubisky seriously, despite the fact that Kenny Pickett’s ankle injury means I must watch him play the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football—truly, the most cursed matchup to ever grace that revered slot. The Steelers hope Pickett will be out only a few weeks, but I’m not sure Trubisky is good enough to keep the Steelers alive in this dense AFC playoff race during Pickett’s absence.

With the Steelers and Browns facing dire quarterbacking situations, there’s more room now for some AFC hopefuls. The Texans and Colts, surely. The Broncos as well. Dare I say … the Bills?

Next Ben Stats

What it sounds like: Next Gen Stats, but I get to make them up.

1: That’s how many punts the Colts actually blocked on Sunday

The national media is lying to you! It’s sensationalizing the numbers! It’d have you believe the Colts blocked two punts against the Titans this Sunday—consecutive punts, in fact. But it is a lie!

Here is their one punt block, courtesy of a wonderful rush by Nick Cross.

As you can see in this replay, Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse actually does make contact with the ball moments before driving it directly into the oncoming Cross. (Cool football nerd moment: This rush was designed based off of film study of the Titans’ punt protection this season. Not dumb luck—schemed up!)

The second “punt block,” however, was anything but!

This, my dear friends, is a forced fumble because Stonehouse never made contact with the ball. Cornerback Troy Brown knocks the ball away from Stonehouse on the drop, not the kick. This ball was never punted, but rather fumbled by the Titans and recovered by the Colts.

The media would have you believe we just saw the 30th game with multiple blocked punts for a single team. Ha!

3: That’s how many games NFL teams have lost this year while allowing their opponent to score 10 or fewer points. The Patriots have all three losses.

This is not a Next Ben Stat—rather, it’s a Next Jason Starrett Stat; he really stumbled across a banger.

You want to know the absolute worst bit? Those three losses … are the Patriots’ past three games: 10-6 to the Colts in London, 10-7 to the Tommy DeVito Giants last week, and this 6-0 travesty at home against the Chargers. The Patriots defense has given up 26 points over the past three games. They’re third by success rate and second by EPA per drive in that stretch. And for their effort, nothing: 0-3. A new coaching staff and a new quarterback (perhaps selected with the second pick, which the Patriots now own) almost inarguably await.

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Time is one of those elusive things that affects everyone, but no one can fully understand or explain it. Dave Barry, the American author and humorist once wrote: “Other than Velcro, time is the most mysterious substance in the universe. You can’t see it or touch it, but a plumber can charge you up to $75 an hour for it without necessarily fixing anything.” Barry’s rate should be adjusted for inflation.

Whether we consciously realize it or not, our understanding of the world around us is inseparable from our perception of time. Time leaves its mark on everything and everyone, and without that time signature we’re lost. Imagine that all people look the same age – even if they are born. Or if every stone and stick looked equally worn and patinated. It would be a bit outside of the Twilight Zone – life seems frozen and we would have no idea where to position ourselves in relation to things around us.

This applies in particular to architecture. As we walk through a city, we experience buildings not only as shapes and colors, but also as time markers – meaning that they are artifacts from different eras in which they were built. Buildings are littered with visual cues, some obvious and some subtle, but a shortcut to this is architectural style. Although occasionally expressing superficial fashions and whims, architectural styles directly reflect building technologies, available materials, solutions to overcome technical or aesthetic challenges, and even political conditions and the general zeitgeist of an era. Of course, geographical location also plays an important role in the design of buildings.

So when we see a Federal-style house, we relate it to post-revolutionary times; a Victorian style house or building from the late 1800s during the reign of Queen Victoria; a typical brick building on Main Street, around the turn of the century; Art Deco belongs to the 1920s and 30s, a time when architects had a new challenge to design much taller buildings; Brutalist concrete architecture – unfortunately what most people associate with “modern architecture” – dates from the 1950s and 60s; and postmodernism was rife in the 1970s and 80s. (The latter two were arguably the most awkward of the bunch, much as the 1970s were for fashion fads.)

To the disappointment of some die-hard custodians, cities and towns are not stagnant museums, but ever-renewing places, with structures added and remodeled over time. It is normal, even desirable, to have modern style buildings next to older style buildings. Modern architecture, when thoughtfully executed, can be warm and appealing and is not incompatible with historical architecture. This juxtaposition of styles and time signatures creates a richer and far more interesting place, and most importantly, makes the historic buildings so much more valuable. Contrast makes everything easier to read, which is why federal and state monument protection guidelines require that additions to historic buildings be differentiated and not imitate the old buildings. This way we can distinguish what is original and what is new.

But what happens when we mess with our sense of time? What if, instead of designing buildings that look, function and belong to our time, we design them to visually mimic ancient and historic buildings? It would not be flattery; it would be fiction. We would simply fool ourselves and send false signals that distort our understanding of time and place. Sooner or later people would find out they were fooled and nobody likes to be fooled. In addition, the authentic historical buildings would also suffer as they would withdraw into a no longer recognizable jumble of doubles and impostors. In a way, we would be creating Disneyland’s Main Street, only worse, because no one is fooled by Disney’s Main Street – they know it’s a theme park. However, our cities are not amusement parks.

Which brings us to the sensitive subject of historic neighborhoods and historic landmarks. Most municipalities apply these categories narrowly and judiciously, landmarks apply to individual buildings or locations, while districts apply to specific city blocks or sometimes neighborhoods. Usually, for a place to be called a historic district, there has to be a preponderance of historic landmarks that are clustered closely together (think San Francisco’s “Painted Ladies”), or where the streets themselves exhibit unique historic qualities (think that cobblestone streets of New York City). streets of Tribeca). This makes sense, because if the name is to have any meaning, you have to be selective and not cast your nets too far, lest you catch more algae than fish.

Summerville has both types of designations, including a fairly expansive area covered by its historic district. In fact, I would argue that the district is too big as it contains many nondescript houses and streets with no historical significance. Still, there are some who suggest that we should enlarge the district as it would protect more of Summerville from poor development. I certainly identify with the feeling, just not with the solution.

If there are individual buildings outside the district that have real historical value, we may, with the consent of the owner, consider designating them as historical landmarks to protect them. There are individual names for this. However, covering the city with a historic district would deprive property owners of their investments, stifle economic growth, snuff out all design creativity and innovation by imposing an architectural straitjacket, and trap us forever in a time warp. Worse, it would create a theme park of fictional “historic” homes and buildings that would mock the entire historic district – the Disneyfication of Summerville.

The answer to bad development is not bad development that looks old. The answer is a thoughtful and well-designed development led by architects who are talented and responsible designers. It also includes a Design Review Board that holds developers to a high standard, discourages architectural pastiche, and encourages elegant and forward-thinking design that belongs to our times and adheres to established urban design principles.

Historic districts should not be used to embalm a city, but rather to preserve and celebrate the truly historic structures of the past while leaving plenty of room for new projects to sustain and enliven city life, pushing us forward confidently and uncompromisingly . The vitality and future of Summerville depends on it.

As Charles F. Kettering, a prolific inventor and a key figure at General Motors, astutely said a century ago, “You can’t have a better tomorrow if you’re thinking about yesterday all the time.”

Eric Epstein lives in Summerville and is the director of Epstein Architecture, a design practice focused on projects that bring people together. Eric has also taught architecture and urban design and is an occasional guest critic at architecture schools. He can be reached at eric@epsteinarchitecture.com.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As it turns out, Anthony DeSclafani has been pitching without a groove for the peroneal tendon in his right ankle for most of his life, and his body has somehow compensated for this genetic abnormality by the end of the 2021 season.

That’s when DeSclafani first started experiencing ankle discomfort, but it went away after a winter of dormancy, only to come back this past April. More rest didn’t help, and eventually the San Francisco Giants right-hander underwent surgery in July in Green Bay, Wisc., with Packers orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Anderson performed the procedure. Anderson is the ankle specialist who lasted the winter for both the Giants and Mets on Carlos Correa’s previous ankle injury.

DeSclafani discovered that some close relatives also lack adequate tendon grooves, including a cousin who underwent the same surgery around the same time. Medical journals estimate that 18% of the population does not have convex retromalleolar grooves.

“Why is it showing up now and starting to act up? That’s the question,” DeSclafani said Wednesday. “I think that’s how the body works sometimes. I have never had any type of ankle problem in my life and then when I spoke to a family member they did the exact same procedure which is odd.

Anderson drilled a groove in the fibula and stabilized the tendon. “It’s locked in,” said DeSclafani, who spent four months recovering.

Now healed, DeSclafani is not only full throttle for spring, he’s on track with the other starters and is scheduled to play a game next week.

Giving live batting practice for the first time this spring on Wednesday, he was feeling great, with mostly good stuff – except maybe the pitch Michael Conforto sent out of the park – and said his change might be even better than it was in 2021.

This season was sensational, especially the first half before the ankle started acting up. He went 10-3 with a 2.68 ERA in the first half, 3-4 with a 4.03 ERA the rest of the way. Last season, he only pitched 19 innings and had an ERA over 6.00.

“It was painful,” he said. “I didn’t want to stay on the backfoot for long. It would hurt and I would want to pick it up or throw it up off the back of the hill and then I would have a lot of momentum to go forward and roll off. I was really throwing with a lot of shoulder and elbow, which could lead to other bad things.

“It was difficult to throw strikes, it was difficult to throw quality pitches. The shape of my slider and two-seamer weren’t there. There was a lot of frustration from pain and not being able to pitch effectively and I knew I was putting myself in danger and potentially hurting other things.”

The light side? DeSclafani’s arm is the best in years after being sidelined for half a year.

“It was an opportunity to give him plenty of free time,” DeSclafani said. “I’m feeling good and trying to possibly holster and even build on what I did in 2021.”

So far so good pitching on a newly stable hock. Catchers and coaches think DeSclafani’s things are looking as good as they do in 2021. “Having him healthy and back as part of our pitching team is a tremendous boost for us,” said pitching coach Andrew Bailey.

Starting mate Alex Cobb added: “I might want to lower expectations for Tony at the beginning because I’ve had season-ending injuries before and it’s very difficult to get back to that form straight away. But having him back will be extremely beneficial.”

The Giants were plagued by so many injuries in the rotation last season that they worked to gain depth this winter. After losing Carlos Rodón to free agency, they added starters Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea despite knowing DeSclafani was expected to be back at full strength. Swing man Jakob Junis can also start, and top prospect Kyle Harrison is expected at some point, giving the team a mix of starters who, if in good health, could be among the best in the league.

“I think we all have the experience and we all have the track record, and I can only control what I can control,” DeSclafani said. “I know if I put out the 21 version of me there’s no need to worry or anything and I think I’m getting close.”

In short, shortstop prospect Marco Luciano (back) uses Grounder and ramps up his shot progression. … Reliever Cole Waites (Lat tribe) will have another week off before resuming throwing.

Contact Susan Slusser: sslusser@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @susanslusser

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Wenn Abigail Munn neuen Bekanntschaften erzählt, dass sie in einem Zirkus auftritt und einen Zirkus leitet, stößt sie normalerweise auf eines von drei Stereotypen: „Die Leute denken, dass Sie Tiere missbrauchen, Sie gehen zu Burning Man oder Sie sind Cirque du Soleil“, sagte sie lachend nach einer kürzlichen Probe zu Circus Bellas „Humorous“.

Aber ihr Unternehmen passt in keine dieser Kategorien. Auch die meisten Zirkusse in der Bay Area tun dies nicht – ein seit langem bestehender Zustand, der jedoch durch die Entwicklung der Zirkusindustrie und der Kunstform noch stärker hervorgetreten ist.

Vor Ort ist eines der sichtbarsten Symbole dieser Entwicklung die Weltpremiere von „Dear San Francisco: A High-Flying Love Story“, die am Mittwoch, den 22. September, in der Vorschau beginnt und am 12. Oktober im Club Fugazi, dem ehemaligen, offiziell eröffnet wird Heimat von „Stranddecke Babylon“. Die Show der Bay Area-Eingeborenen Shana Carroll und Gypsy Snider, Mitbegründer von Montreals The 7 Fingers, vermeidet “ta-da!” razzmatazz für die düstere, kantige Ästhetik des modernen Tanzes oder der Performance-Kunst, aber ohne die echte oder wahrgenommene Hochnäsigkeit und das esoterische Bewegungsvokabular dieser Formen.

Seit der Gründung der 7 Fingers im Jahr 2002, sagte Carroll gegenüber The Chronicle im Mai, versuchten die beiden, die distanzierende Wirkung des Spektakels zu vermeiden. „Unser Ziel, sagten wir immer wieder, war es, es auf einen menschlichen Maßstab zu bringen. Wir hatten das Gefühl, dass die Leute auf der Bühne Menschen waren, mit denen wir verwandt waren, Menschen, die wir kannten.“

Dieselbe Vision treibt „Dear San Francisco“ an.

Im Circus Center probt Jérémi Levesque Reifentauchen in Erwartung der Weltpremiere von „Dear San Francisco“ von Club Fugazi Experiences. Foto: Jon Bauer / Club Fugazi Experiences

Andere Zeichen für den Wandel des Zirkus sind Schließung und Kürzung. Im Jahr 2020 beantragte der kanadische Mischkonzern Cirque du Soleil Insolvenzschutz. Das Unternehmen steht jetzt dank einer Infusion von 375 Millionen US-Dollar von Investoren auf solider finanzieller Basis, sagte CEO Daniel Lamarre gegenüber The Chronicle.

„Gleichzeitig“, sagte er, „werden wir aus dieser Krise lernen und das Unternehmen konservativ führen. Das Unternehmen wird in Bezug auf Personal, Ausgaben und auch die Anzahl neuer Shows schlanker.“

Vor der Pandemie präsentierte Cirque du Soleil 44 Shows auf der ganzen Welt; derzeit laufen nur etwa ein Dutzend oder haben geplante Eröffnungstermine.

Emily Tucker tritt 2016 in Cirque du Soleils „Luzia“ in San Francisco auf. Der Cirque du Soleil erholt sich, nachdem er während der Pandemie Insolvenz angemeldet hatte. Foto: Beck Diefenbach / Special zur Chronik 2016

„EWir waren schon vor der Krise an einem Punkt, an dem wir unser Show-Portfolio wirklich optimieren und in einem anderen Rhythmus produzieren wollten“, fügte Lamarre hinzu. „Im Moment wurden wir von der Krise dazu gedrängt, dies umzusetzen, was bedeutet, dass wir unsere bestehenden Shows wiedereröffnen und neue Shows in einem Tempo produzieren, das es uns ermöglicht, den Inhalt nicht zu beeinträchtigen.“

Lamarre schätzt, dass Cirque du Soleil frühestens 2023 wieder in der Bay Area auftreten wird.

Das fusionierte Unternehmen Ringling Bros. und Barnum & Bailey war vielleicht der amerikanische Zirkus, der am ehesten mit dem Image eines reisenden Zirkuszeltes mit drei Ringen voller exotischer Tiere verbunden war. Im Jahr 2017 schloss das Unternehmen nach einem katastrophalen Versuch mit „Out of This World“, Erzählungen zu integrieren, sowie nach Jahren rückläufiger Besucherzahlen und Protesten von Tierschützern.

„Out of this World“ von Ringling Bros. und Barnum & Bailey Circus in der Oracle Arena in Oakland im Jahr 2016. Das Unternehmen wurde 2017 geschlossen. Foto: Scott Strazzante / Die Chronik 2016

Der amerikanische Zirkus sei einzigartig für seine Wandershows und seinen Ursprung im Spektakel, sagte der Zirkushistoriker Dominique Jando, der im Beirat des Circus Center in San Francisco sitzt und die zirkusgeschichtliche Site Circopedia betreibt. Aber diese ersten amerikanischen Zirkusse waren vom Profit getrieben, nicht von Kunst oder Schönheit, erklärte er.

“Die drei Ringe kamen aus rein wirtschaftlichen Gründen. Um mehr Leute in das Zelt zu stopfen, musste man nur das Zelt vergrößern“, sagte Jando und bemerkte, dass der „Ring“ selbst weiter zurückreicht, auf die Ursprünge des Zirkus in Reitshows; der Ring war für Pferde, um darin herumzulaufen. „Damit jeder etwas sehen kann, haben sich PT Barnum und WC Coup dazu entschieden, die Ringe zu vervielfachen, sodass man überall im Zelt etwas zu sehen hatte.“

Aber all dieses Getümmel hätte es dem Publikum möglicherweise unmöglich gemacht, Zirkus als nuancierte bildende Kunst zu schätzen. In Europa unterstützen einzelne Städte das ganze Jahr über einen oder mehrere Zirkusse, wobei das Programm jeden Monat wechselt. Zirkusartisten gelten dort nicht als Spinner, sondern als angesehene Künstler.

In den USA, stellt Munn reumütig fest, gibt es nicht einmal eine „Zirkus“-Box, um die Anträge auf Stipendien der National Endowment for the Arts zu überprüfen.

Wade Burck und weiße Tiger mit den Ringling Bros. Barnum und Bailey Circus im Oakland Coliseum am 23. August 1984. Foto: Michael Maloney / Die Chronik 1984

Jetzt jedoch, mit so vielen Veränderungen in der Branche, hatte der Zirkus die Chance, sich neu zu definieren und zu erheben, Zirkus-Stereotypen zu verbannen, indem er das tat, was er schon immer getan hat. Und oft haben kleinere Zirkusse wie der von Munn die Nase vorn.

Es gibt den Flynn Creek Circus an der Küste von Mendocino, der mit einem Zelt in ländliche Gebiete reist, das die gesamte Firma vor jedem Auftritt aufstellt. „Fairy Tale“, dessen letzte Aufführung vom 30. September bis 3. Oktober in Boonville stattfindet, richtet sich an Erwachsene, ist aber nicht unbedingt für Kinder ungeeignet.

„Wir haben die Seltsamkeit und Nostalgie eines Zirkus der alten Welt, aber das Material ist sehr neu“, sagte der künstlerische Leiter Blaze Birge.

Vivianne Keene (links) und Eka Malbeouf in Flynn Creek Circus „Märchen“. Foto: Leori Gill / Flynn Creek Circus

„Märchen“ handelt von einem Weber, der ein Märchenland baut, aber ein Loch darin hinterlässt, durch das ein Jüngling fällt. Ein Einhorn, gewebt mit dem letzten Faden des Webers, muss den Tag retten – aber nur mit seinem hinteren Ende. (Es wird von zwei Darstellern gespielt.) Unter der Komödie befindet sich jedoch eine Erkundung des Verlusts der Unschuld.

Auch die geplante Winterproduktion im Circus Center nutze das Märchenformat, um eine erwachsene Geschichte zu erzählen, sagte Felicity Hesed, die neue künstlerische Leiterin des Centers.

“Es wird ‘Alice in Winterland’ sein”, sagte sie. „Alice ist jetzt eine erwachsene Frau mit Kindern und sie fällt zurück ins Wunderland“, wo die anderen beliebten Charaktere der Geschichte ebenfalls ein mittleres Alter erreicht haben.

Im Circus Center proben die Darsteller Isabella Diaz (seitlich an der Stange), Jérémi Levesque (hält Isabellas unteren Fuß) und Kalani June (hält Isabellas oberen Fuß) chinesische Stangen in Erwartung der Weltpremiere von Club Fugazi Experiences’ „Dear San Francisco .“ Foto: Jon Bauer / Club Fugazi Experiences

Als Zeichen dafür, wie eng der Bay Area Circus vernetzt ist, schreiben Carroll und Snider dem Circus Center und seinem emeritierten künstlerischen Leiter, Meistertrainer Lu Yi, der die chinesische Akrobatik in den Vereinigten Staaten eingeführt hat, die Beeinflussung der 7 Finger zu. Der Pickle Family Circus wiederum trug wesentlich dazu bei, Lu Yi in die Staaten zu bringen. Währenddessen debütierten sowohl Carroll als auch Snider als Performer bei den Pickles, und die beiden leiteten die Proben für „Dear San Francisco“ im Circus Center.

Dann gibt es die Vau de Vire Society, die Zirkus, Tanz, Kabarett und Nightlife-Party in Events wie dem begehbaren Edwardian Ball in San Francisco oder der Dinnershow „The Soiled Dove“ in Oakland vereint.

Rebecca Feller (links), Sandia DeLavibora, Stephanie Bailey in „The Soiled Dove“ der Vau de Vire Society. Foto: Daisy Rose Coby / Memento Moda 2018

„Wir machen keine Sit-Down-and-Watch-Shows“, sagte Mike Gaines, Produzent der Vau de Vire Society. “Es ist kein ruhiges, gefangenes Publikum.”

Einige seiner Darsteller könnten einen immersiven Kampf zwischen den Tischen der Gäste inszenieren, zum Beispiel zwischen traditionelleren Luftakten.

Dann gibt es Circus Bella, der dem Zirkus der kollektiven Vorstellungskraft am ehesten ähnelt. In „Humorous“ tragen Clowns übergroße Schuhe. Rutschenpfeifen und Geräuschmacher unter den Instrumenten einer sechsköpfigen Live-Band akzentuieren Stunts. Ein Darsteller, Toni Cannon, wird sogar als „starker Mann“ bezeichnet.

Toni Cannon hebt Calvin Kai Ku während Circus Bellas „Humorous“ im DeFremery Park in Oakland hoch. Foto: Santiago Mejia / Die Chronik

Doch selbst inmitten all dieser erkennbaren Signifikanten hat Circus Bellas neueste kostenlose, kinderfreundliche Outdoor-Show ihre eigenen künstlerischen Akzente, die in den Zirkussen vor einem Jahrhundert unbekannt waren. Musik, komponiert von Rob Reich für die Circus Bella All-Star Band, wird oft jazzig und stimmungsvoll. „Humorous“ enthält auch eine Lesung eines Gedichts des Circus Bella Poet Laureate Elliot Simon.

“Zirkus hat etwas so Unprätentiöses, leicht zugängliches”, sagte Munn und merkte an, dass es keine gemeinsame Sprache oder gemeinsame Kultur erfordert. „Ich liebe verrückte Kostüme und die Magie. Für mich ist das ein Teil dessen, worum es im Zirkus geht – Eskapismus und die Vorstellung, jemand anderes zu sein.“

Sie weist darauf hin, dass bei der „Humorous“-Probe, als der Performer Garrett Allen ein paar Stühle in einen prekären Turm stapelte und auf die Spitze kletterte, „wir alle mit ihm da oben waren“.

Garret Allen stapelt Stühle und klettert auf sie während Circus Bellas „Humorous“. Foto: Santiago Mejia / Die Chronik

Dennoch hat der traditionelle Zirkus eine dunkle Seite – die Ausbeutung von Tieren, die Exotisierung sogenannter Freaks. Bill Irwin, ein gefeierter Performer im Pickle Family Circus in San Francisco, erinnert sich daran, wie die Veteranen der Branche ihre Kunstform beschrieben haben, als er in den 1970er Jahren das Ringling Bros. und das Barnum & Bailey Clown College besuchte. „Zirkus ist zweierlei: Es sind Tiere für die Kinder und eine sexy Show für die Erwachsenen.“

Katherine Hutchinson, der neue künstlerische Leiter des Kinetic Arts Center in Oakland, beschreibt die historisch begrenzten Ansichten der Zirkusproduzenten darüber, was ihre Shows sein müssen: „Das Publikum will hübsche, dünne, weiße Damen sehen, die Spagat in der Luft machen.“

Katherine Hutchinson in „Corps de Ballet“. Foto: Leah Marie / Elle Aime Photography

Im Kinetic Arts Center, das in erster Linie eine Schule ist, aber auch Künstlerresidenz-Shows präsentiert, hofft Hutchinson, einen Zirkus zu schaffen, bei dem es nicht darum geht, Fremdheit oder Schönheit zu objektivieren.

„Seltsamkeit um der Fremdheit willen ist etwas anderes, als menschliche Eigenschaften zu betrachten und sich von dem inspirieren zu lassen, was ein Mensch tun kann“, sagte sie.

Sie ist besonders daran interessiert, Zirkus zu nutzen, um Charakter, Emotionen und Geschichten zu entwickeln. In einem ihrer eigenen Stücke, „Corps de Ballet“, ging es um „Wie Ballett mein Körperbild beeinflusst hat und Zirkus mir geholfen hat, mich zu erholen.“

Ein weiteres verräterisches Zeichen für den Wandel der Zirkusbranche war die Gründung der American Circus Alliance im März 2020. Mitbegründer Serenity Smith Forchion aus Vermont glaubt, dass diese neue Gruppe der erste landesweite Zirkusverband ist (obwohl es frühere Versuche gegeben hat). Zu seinen Prioritäten zählen Munns und Hutchinsons Knackpunkte, wie das Befürworten des Zirkus als Kunstform und die Einführung von Diversität, Gerechtigkeit und Inklusion.

„Die Leute schreiben auch heute noch Sinfonien. Die Leute schreiben auch heute noch Opern“, bemerkte Munn. „Wir stehen immer noch in dieser Zirkustradition. Können wir diese Nostalgie für die Vergangenheit einbringen und sie heute relevant machen? Können wir die Essenz und die guten Teile nehmen?“

Abigail Munn moderiert Circus Bellas „Humorous“ im DeFremery Park. Foto: Santiago Mejia / Die Chronik

„Liebes San Francisco: Eine hochfliegende Liebesgeschichte“: Erstellt von Shana Carroll und Gypsy Snider. Vorschauen bis 10. Oktober. $25-$39; $35-$89 ab 13. Oktober. Club Fugazi, 678 Green St., SF 415-273-0600. www.clubfugazisf.com

“Märchen”: Erstellt und inszeniert von Blaze Birge. Donnerstag-Sonntag, 30. September-Okt. 3. Pakete beginnen bei $76 für zwei Personen. Anderson Valley Brewing Company, 17700 Boonville Road, Boonville. 707-684-9389. www.flynncreekcircus.com

“Humorvoll”: Regie: Abigail Munn. 14.00 Uhr Sonntag, 3. Okt. Kostenlos. Heron’s Head Park, Jennings Street am Cargo Way, SF 415-480-4239. www.circusbella.org

• Lily Janiak
  Lily Janiak ist die Theaterkritikerin des San Francisco Chronicle. E-Mail: ljaniak@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LilyJaniak

The post New present ‘Pricey San Francisco’ opens at a turning level for circus as artwork type appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.