Having chosen to reside in the Pacific Northwest, I have been listening to the doom and gloom gurgling from fans of the Seattle Seahawks this week.

How can we win with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback, they say.

We'll be lucky to win six games, some say.

Maybe we'll win as little as two games, others say, and be in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.

SPARE ME. Please.

Try being a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, who won five Super Bowls faster than any other team in the National Football League, but have not been in the playoffs since 2002. The eight years since have been a painful reminder of the gory days of the 1970s, before Bill Walsh was brought in, drafted a skinny guy named Montana, and saved the day.

If I remember correctly, the Seahawks won the NFC West last year - mostly because the rules state that somebody has to win each division, and Seattle's 7-9 record was the best of that motley bunch.

And the Seahawks won a wild-card game in the playoffs, in part because Seattle has one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL, with 67,000 screaming fans in a stadium constructed to retain much of that noise - not quite like the old days at the Kingdome, but quite loud nonetheless.

Candlestick Park in San Francisco, meanwhile, is where visiting teams come to get well. The thousands of empty seats don't make much noise, and the fans that do show up haven't had much to cheer about in recent years.

Jim Harbaugh, who used to get yelled at a lot by coach Mike Ditka when he was quarterback of the Chicago Bears, is being viewed as a savior of a coach in San Francisco, almost along the lines of Walsh.

However, he is saddled with many of the same players who have underperformed in recent years, including last year when some people foolishly thought the 49ers would win the division.

But San Francisco was whipped 31-6 at Seattle in the season opener in 2010, and limped to a 6-10 finish.

TODAY, “doom and gloom” meets “woe is me” in the season opener at Candlestick Park.

Having walked around Candlestick a little more than a year ago, I am not surprised that people get beat up and shot there. Sadly, there has been little aggression on the actual football field. The 49ers’ defense has been respectable, but spends way too much time on the field, because the offense is the definition of three-and-out.

I will admit, however, that we were very happy to see Seattle part with Matt Hasselbeck and go with Tarvaris Jackson this year. Even though he was banged up last year, Hasselbeck is by far a more dangerous quarterback, and probably still was the best quarterback in the division last year.

Then again, we are trotting out Alex Smith at quarterback again this year. Alex makes enough decent throws to give you hope, then he throws one to the other team and the boo birds sound off again. Maybe Harbaugh can turn him into the quarterback that most of the other 49er coaches and offensive coordinators have been unable to. Yeah, I know — wishful thinking.

The Seattle fans are worried about Frank Gore running all over them, like he did a couple of years ago in a 206-yard performance. The 49er fans are worried about Frank Gore even making it to the line of scrimmage, as San Francisco’s offensive line has been consistent in recent years — unable to open holes for the running backs, unable to protect the quarterback.

Given that promising outlook for the two teams, the one that plays less poorly than the other today should win.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com.