Ever since the dawn of fandom, there's always been homerism. That's what happens when a fan is more literally what the term itself implies - fanatical - and has opinions that are based less in reality than the daily goings-on in Terry Bradshaw's head. The third string quarterback is always the favorite player on the team, the most physical specimen on either the defensive or offensive line is just looking for his chance to shine, and that sixth round wide receiver is going to put it all together and be something special someday.
All of these things are unrealistic, and something that every team's fans do. That isn't to say that being excited about a late-round prospect is homerism, it's just that a lot of the times, you see those players through team-colored goggles. Just hope you're not a Seahawks fan and you're sporting alternates goggles - you'll probably go blind from the hideousness.
Back on track, it looks like 49ers fans may be right about one of their late round prospects. Wide receiver Kyle Williams has had himself a pair of breakout games in recent weeks, and on Sunday, he had a 56 yard touchdown, showing off impressive acceleration and agility to get between some would-be tacklers and pile on the YAC on his way into the endzone. He also had a point where he rushed the ball for 25 yards and threw out a pride-obliterating stiff arm to a St Louis Rams player. In short, he was pretty darn good in the 49ers 26-0 win over St. Louis.
When the team drafted him, a sizable portion of the fanbase talked about how they were excited for the pick. There was a possibility of him being a punt returner, but he suffered some injuries. When he was healthy, fans begged the question "Why isn't Kyle Williams playing more!?" and the answer was pretty simple: "He's raw. He's new. We don't know what he can bring." But the fans kept on with this one, and after string of good games, they could be onto something.
He's shown good hands and decent route-running, coupled with an explosiveness on the field that the 49ers have lacked. All of those things spell out more playing time, and maybe this late-round prospect can be something special. Only time will tell, but the homers were likely more than homers this time around.