"No."
That was George Kittle’s response to whether or not the tight end has ever had a bad day. Not just in his NFL career, but throughout his nearly 26 years of life.
After the season Kittle put together in 2018, it’s fair to say football didn’t generate many sub-par days for him. Kittle led the league in receiving yards per game by a tight end (86.1) and ended up with 88 catches for almost 1,400 yards.
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Another thing that might be keeping Kittle from having a “glass-half-empty” kind of day is a tradition Kittle and his father, Bruce, have had for almost a decade, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN:
Every Saturday during the season, a letter for George Kittle arrives at 49ers headquarters. The next day, Kittle makes reading it his top priority. The letters are from his father, usually three or four pages long with a mix of notes about the upcoming opponent, observations from the previous week's game, a photo or two and what Bruce calls "significant" (and often vulgar) trash-talk. The letters are themed-things like staying focused on the moment and savoring the opportunity to play football -- and usually feature a cameo from comic book heroes like Batman or Spider-Man.
"That's kind of like the first step to my switch," Kittle told ESPN. "I read that and I know, 'Hey, it's game day, lock in.'"
Bruce said the tradition started after he learned the story of Austin Box, a former linebacker at Oklahoma who passed away from a drug overdose. His father, Craig, wrote Austin a letter before every football game from the time his son was in seventh grade.
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The Iowa alum has always been able to dial it up a notch when he steps on the field, even using an iconic movie character from the Batman universe as his inspiration.
"I don't try to channel all the Joker, obviously, because he has some issues," Kittle said. "Creating a little bit of chaos is just kind of what I try to do. I'm just trying to be the most outgoing, craziest person on the field."
Kittle’s high school coach, Greg Nation, went a different way and compared him to an infamous professional wrestler.
“That dude is Ric Flair on the football field," Nation said. "When the lights come on and he comes out of the locker room, he flips that switch and he's in that same place until the end of the game. And then he goes back to being George Kittle."
[RELATED: Why George Kittle wants to channel his inner Joker on 49ers game days]
49ers fans hope to see more of that menacing on-field personality, as Kittle hopes to finally have a franchise QB in Jimmy Garoppolo for a full campaign.
After the season No. 85 put together with a combination of Garoppolo, Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard at QB, Kittle should be looking forward to continuing his streak of good days.