It was a night filled with storylines in New Orleans.
Ray Lewis played his final game as a Raven, Beyonce reminded us all why she’s still the sexiest woman alive and most interestingly of all, two brothers coached against each other in the biggest game of the season.
Only 15 months apart in age, John and Jim Harbaugh were used to competing against each other growing up. However, neither one could have ever possibly dreamed that they’d be locked in a competition for the most coveted trophy in football.
John, the elder brother, never amalgamated into much in the pros and spent much of his career as a coaching assistant. Jim, on the other hand, had many solid seasons and managed to actually start at quarterback in the NFL.
This time though, it was John who got the best of Jim, leading his Ravens team to a closely fought 34-31 victory over his brother’s 49ers.
The game was filled with plenty of excitement, despite looking like a blowout by the Ravens early on. Baltimore QB Joe Flacco was stellar in the early stages of the game, throwing for three touchdowns and leading the Ravens to a 28-6 lead midway through the third quarter. Conversely, his San Francisco counterpart couldn’t seem to produce the same results. Despite a few solid drives, Colin Kaepernick seemed shaken up early on. It didn’t help that his team couldn’t seem to even manage a touchdown or defensive stop.
It appeared as if the Ravens were going to cruise to a quick and easy blowout after special teamer Jacoby Jones ripped off a 108 yard kick return after the halftime break.
That is, until the lights went out.
For 34 agonizing minutes, both teams were sidelined due to a mysterious blackout that struck the Superdome. Maybe the Ravens were still distracted by Beyonce, or perhaps the Niners just pulled together a new strategy during the game delay, but somehow San Fran crawled back and made it a 31-29 game with a few ticks to go.
Nevertheless, Joe Flacco (the future game MVP) calmly marched his Ravens down the field to set up a quick and easy Justin Tucker field goal, putting them ahead 34-29.
With roughly four minutes to go, it was Colin Kaepernick’s turn. The second-year scrambler from Nevada had struggled at times during the game, but his final drive looked as if it was going to erase all of that. Within what seemed like seconds, Kap had the Niners within striking distance, bringing them all the way down to the Ravens 10 yard line. The Niners would have four tries to punch in a touchdown for the go-ahead score.
Maybe something inspired Lewis and his defense, because the 49ers would never see the end zone again. In one of the greatest stops in Super Bowl history, the Ravens caused the 49ers offense to sputter in the red zone and ultimately cemented a 34-31 victory to win the Lombardi trophy.
After the game, John told his brother that he “loved him” but I’m sure Jim wasn’t feeling the brotherly love.
Despite the outcome, it was a momentous day for both sides that truly could have gone either way down the stretch. In terms of media appeal, Super Bowl XLVII had ridiculously high ratings and featured a bevy of hilarious commercials, spot on play-by-play commentary by Phil Simms and Jim Nantz and a killer halftime show by Grammy winning artist Beyonce.
Minus the blackout, this Super Bowl will go down as a classic, and how could it not? Two brothers were matched head to head with some of the best players the game has ever seen on both sides of the ball. Any time you have that kind of situation, it’s bound to come down to the wire.
In the words of Lewis: “You get one opportunity in life, one chance at life to do whatever you’re going to do, and lay your foundation and make whatever mark you’re going to make. Whatever legacy you’re going to leave; leave your legacy!”